


Like The Deserts Miss The Rain

by aewgliriel



Category: Star Wars Legends: Legacy Era - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cunnilingus, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Het, Heterosexual Sex, Oral Sex, Romance, Seduction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-13 22:17:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 39,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5719054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aewgliriel/pseuds/aewgliriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate Universe. The galaxy is split between the Empire and the Republic. Jaina Solo must make a pact with a Sith Lord to stop the Empire's conquest of the rest of the galaxy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_I'm walking down your street again_  
 _Past your door_  
 _But you don't live there anymore_  
 _It's years since you've been there_  
 _And now you've disappeared somewhere_  
 _Like outer space_  
 _You've found some better place_  
 _And I miss you_  
 _Like the deserts miss the rain_  
  
 _\-- Everything But The Girl, "Missing"_  
  
  
  
 **\--Chapter One--**  
  
Yavin IV  
34 ABY  
  
The orb of the gas giant Yavin was sliding past the horizon when Jaina Solo strode into the audience chamber of the Great Temple. Her dark hair swung behind her in a braid that fell to her thighs. A lightsaber hung at her hip, its casing worn and scarred.  
  
There were nine seats on the dias, the centre seat empty as it had been ever since she could remember. The other eight seats were filled; the Council was waiting for her.  
  
"You are late, Knight Solo," Jedi Master Kam Solusar said. His face was lined, his hair white. He'd been a child at the time of the Purge, and was the oldest member of the Council. He sat to the immediate left of the empty chair, his sand-coloured robes draped around him.  
  
Jaina bowed her head. "My apologies, Master Solusar. What does the council wish of me?"  
  
Leia Organa Solo, seated to the right of the empty chair, leaned forward. Hers was the only chair not carved of stone; it was a repulsor-chair, made to allow her movement after the loss of the lower portion of her legs some years before. "We have received reports from the Republic," she began, "that the Empire is trying to expand its borders."  
  
Jaina frowned. "They've already got most of the Core, from the Colonies to the Unknown Regions. That's at least half the galaxy. Why do they need to expand? They got Coruscant back."  
  
Tionne Solusar, seated next to her husband, spoke. "The Empire is merely biding its time until it can reclaim everything the Rebellion took from them. They've already taken advantage of our weakness once."  
  
The young woman before them sighed. "I know. I fought at the Battle of Coruscant."  
  
"You _led_ the Battle of Coruscant," Master Kyle Katarn corrected.  
  
She sighed again. "I'd prefer to forget that, Master, considering the Empire used the battle to take Coruscant from us while we were focusing on the Vong."  
  
Leia waved that away. "As we've discussed, we could not have anticipated the Empire's betrayal, especially not after the treaty that was signed by President Fey'lya. What's past is past. We would like you to investigate these rumours. We don't entirely trust the Republic's information and we'd like some of our own. We ask that you take your brother with you."  
  
"That's it?" Jaina was incredulous.  
  
The Council was silent as its members looked at one another. Jaina immediately regretted saying anything.  
  
"There is . . . one other thing," Kam said. He looked at her gravely. "As yet, Lord Rache has not aligned himself with the Empire. We'd like to keep it that way."  
  
Jaina's mouth opened, but no sound came out. What did they want _her_ to do?  
  
Her mother's mouth was pinched, her face drawn, as she said, "The Republic, against our better judgement, has asked us to locate Lord Rache. They would like us to find him and . . . see if we can get him to ally himself with our side."  
  
\-----  
  
"They're _insane_!"  
  
"Not really," he brother said. He was lounging in the doorway, watching his sister pace.  
  
Jaina stopped. "How are they _not_ insane? They want us to track down a _Sith Lord_ , the one involved in-"  
  
She hesitated, still unable sometimes to say the words. "They want me to find him and strike a _deal_ with him? He's a _Sith_! He's the enemy!"  
  
Her brother's blue eyes were serious, as they'd been far too often since the war. He brushed dark hair out of his eyes as he said, "Jaina . . . he could have wiped us out over the years, at any time. He knows exactly where we are. And it was his army that wiped out the Vong. His people that saved the Academy."  
  
She sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. "I know, Anakin. I know all this, but still, does it make it right?"  
  
She tugged at her braid and looked unseeingly at her workbench, where half a dozen unfinished projects lay strewn across its surface. "He'll never join the Empire. He hates them. But why would the Republic want to have an alliance with a Sith Lord?"  
  
" _Because_ he's a Sith Lord?" Anakin guessed. "Also, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."  
  
Jaina stared at her little brother. "Why aren't you on the Council yet?" she demanded.  
  
"Too young," Anakin said, a twinkle in his eye. "I don't get a shot at that until I'm a Master."  
  
She shook her head. "I don't want it. And I don't want this mission, either."  
  
"Neither do I, but the Council must be agreeing to the Republic's request for some reason they haven't divulged to us. We'll go and check things out. Who knows if it'll even be possible to find Rache? If we can't find him, we obviously can't negotiate a treaty with him."  
  
Jaina smiled at her sibling's logic. "You're right."  
  
Then she motioned him out so she could pack.  
  
\-----  
  
The hangar under the Temple was one of Jaina's favourite places. It housed the Jedi contingent of starfighters, a disreputable mix of A-wings, E-wings, and a bunch of XJX-wings donated by someone during the war. Jaina had her suspicions about their benefactor, ones she'd never voiced.  
  
There were also a few small cargo ships and a very nice ship Jaina hoped to fly some day, one donated by Teneniel Djo, the Queen Mother of Hapes. Jaina thought of her friend, Tenel Ka, who was currently at home, visiting her family for her sister Ialin Tu's lifeday.  
  
Anakin was already running through the preflight checks on his X-wing, his astromech, Fiver, in place. Jaina found that he'd also started the preflight on her X-wing, with the assistance of her droid, Cappie.  
  
She said hello to the droid, the one she'd had since Duro, after her mother had lost her legs fighting Warmaster Tsavong Lah. Jaina had been injured in a battle shortly before Duro and had lost her previous droid, Sparky. She hadn't been able to help her mother, because Jaina had temporarily lost her eyesight.  
  
But that had been years ago, when she was just barely eighteen. She was almost twenty-six now. Twenty-six, and a decorated soldier who'd reached the rank of Colonel before she'd resigned her commission a handful of years before and devoted her life to the Jedi.  
  
It was a choice that, unfortunately, took much of her chance for a "normal" life, like the one Tenel Ka had. Her friend was engaged to be married, to a long-time friend of theirs, Zekk. It also frequently put her in the position of doing things that she really didn't want to, like finding the Sith Lord who had been responsible for the death of Luke Skywalker.


	2. Chapter 2

**\--Chapter Two--**

 

Jaina didn't think she'd spent four consecutive days in the cockpit of an X-wing since she was twenty years old. It wasn't exactly comfortable, and she was looking forward to stopping _anywhere_ and having a shower, as well as sleeping horizontally. Decent food would be good, as well.  
  
Rumour had it that Darth Rache didn't have any particular world as his base. Instead, he had a ship. A very big ship. A flying fortress as a testament to his power. At least, that was what they'd heard in the last few systems they'd been in.  
  
Jaina at least knew the name of the ship, which was something most didn't. She'd also once upon a time heard the voice of its commander, the shadowy Sith Lord with a reputation at least as large as Darth Vader's.  
  
They'd made their way along the border for the last week, stopping just long enough at systems to inquire about Imperial activity and sightings of Rache's ship. A lot of beings imagined they'd seen the Eradicator, but she doubted that few actually had.  
  
No one really knew what Darth Rache was up to. After a brief rampage against the Empire twenty years before, he'd virtually disappeared, popping up every few years in a big, flashy gesture--usually when he could embarrass either the Republic or the Empire the most, like saving the galaxy from the Vong--and then promptly vanish, once more, into the dark places between the stars.  
  
The search had brought them here, to the Outer Rim, near the Bespin system. She had her theories as to why they were out this way, but again, they weren't things she voiced aloud.  
  
Inquiries at Cloud City sent them further rimward. Jaina decided to try to sleep, hoping against hope they found nothing. But her gut feeling didn't agree with her head.  
  
\-----  
  
A shudder and a bone-jarring wrench woke Jaina as the X-wings abruptly dropped out of hyperspace. The diagnostics were wailing. Jaina's fingers moved over the controls as she looked up to see why they'd been yanked out.  
  
"Holy Force," she breathed.  
  
Somehow, she hadn't remembered Rache's ship being quite so . . . large. Or scary. She'd seen it only once before, at the Battle of Coruscant eight years ago. Time had dimmed it in her mind.  
  
It appeared to have once been a Super-class Star Destroyer, but twenty years of modification had changed it into something even more sinister. It almost looked like parts of a Hapan Battle Dragon had been attached to the sides toward the back of the ship, like wings.  
  
She'd been an unwilling guest of the Shadow Academy as a teenager; it looked like Rache had appropriated it and attached it to his ship, the spiky ring-shaped structure forming a hump on the top of the Destroyer through which the control tower of the Destroyer rose. The whole thing was massive and intimidating, bristling with weaponry, the outer hull painted black.  
  
At first, Jaina thought that Rache had taken the gravity-well generator from an Interdictor-class Destroyer and attached it in front of the ring, but at second glance, she realised the entire Interdictor had been welded to the ship below it.  
  
This was what had pulled them out, and Jaina could see why people had been frightened when they'd spoken of it. Of course, the fleet around it wasn't shabby, either. Jaina had no idea what make the ships were, but they were at least the size of Imperial Star Destroyers.  
  
"You think he's compensating for anything?" Anakin asked laconically.  
  
Jaina laughed. "Possibly."  
  
She opened a channel to hail. " _Eradicator_ , this is Jaina Solo of the Republic, requesting contact."  
  
Only a moment passed before a voice crackled over the comm. "Republic fighters, stand down and wait for escort."  
  
She switched over to the private channel. "You think they were expecting us?"  
  
"We've only been asking at every system if anyone's seen them; Rache was bound to get word two Jedi were looking for him. He's probably very curious."  
  
"Great." Jaina knew her brother was right, as he usually was.  
  
A watery planet hung behind the _Eradicator_ , and against the blue and white backdrop, Jaina could see small black flecks moving towards them, long before they reached scanner range. These she was more familiar with; she'd fought alongside these sleek black fighters in several battles and wasn't likely to soon forget the needle-like shape.  
  
She and Anakin let the squadron lead her toward the _Eradicator_. Jaina was surprised when a bay on the circular portion opened to admit them, rather than one of the docking bays in the belly.  
  
"Considering we were looking for all of a week, this feels like a set-up," Anakin said over the comm.  
  
"I'd have to agree," Jaina responded.  
  
Her fighter settled on the polished black surface of the landing bay. The doors slide closed behind them, the other fighters, twelve of them, coming to rest in a group behind the two X-wings. As Jaina descended from her cockpit, she looked at Anakin.  
  
"Cordial welcome," she murmured. "I'm getting the impression we're not going to find it easy to leave."  
  
Anakin shook his head.  
  
The twelve other pilots, in black uniforms and opaque black helmets, formed two lines that the two Jedi had to walk between to get to the door, where someone of higher rank was waiting for them.  
  
"I think someone got a discount on bulk purchases of black material," Jaina quipped. "Even the Empire has more variety in their uniforms."  
  
Her eyes fell on a unique vessel, one that looked like a demented mind had got hold of a TIE fighter and given it claws instead of the panels. She hadn't seen a Chiss clawcraft since the war; they were allied with the Empire, she recalled.  
  
Jaina nudged Anakin. "Looks like the Empire's already here."  
  
He nodded, but remained silent.  
  
The uniformed woman at the door gave them an icy stare. She was tall, with white hair and purple eyes. The entirity of the eye was purple, not just her iris; Jaina actually couldn't see any pupil. "I am Captain Zyras Penta," she said. "Lord Rache would like to see you immediately. Follow me."  
  
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Anakin asked.  
  
Jaina shushed him as they followed Captain Penta. She could barely keep track of the twists and turns of the corridors, or the number of turbolifts they took. She got the impression they were purposely being taken an unnecessary direction just so they couldn't find their way back easily.  
  
Penta stopped in front of a door and pressed the entry pad. After a moment, the door slid open and the trio walked into fairly small room, apparently some sort of tactical command centre. There was a large holographic map occupying the right side of the room, displaying the galaxy. Half of it was in red, denoting the Empire's space, the other in Republic blue.  
  
Jaina's eyes went to the throne at the far end of the room. A man lounged there, dressed in black leggings, black boots, black gloves, a black cloak, and a vibrant, blood-red shirt. He had black hair long enough to be pulled back. A cloaked, motionless figure stood beside the throne.  
  
Before the throne stood a man in his late twenties, with close-cropped black hair, also dressed in black, an Imperial-style uniform with red trim. He looked annoyed at their presence.  
  
"Ah, right on time, the emissaries from the Republic," the man on the throne drawled. "Jedi no less. I'm honoured. As you can see, the Empire only sent me one of their pilots."  
  
Both Solos stopped, taking in the scene.  
  
"You may go, Captain Penta," Darth Rache said, gesturing with a gloved hand to the door.  
  
"May the Force be with us," Anakin murmured to Jaina as the captain closed the door behind her, and they found themselves alone in a room full of enemies.


	3. Chapter 3

**\--Chapter Three--**  
  
Jaina and Anakin turned back to face their host. Rache was watching their reactions, but turned back to the Imperial after a moment.

"Continue, Colonel Fel," the Sith said.

Jaina jerked slightly, remembering the young soldier she'd met at Ithor. She'd felt a brief attraction at seventeen, but that had been years ago. And there was definitely no attraction now; the man who stood before her was too hard and grim. Even Rache was more attractive.

"As I was saying, my lord, the Empire offers a stipend of five million Imperial credits per standard year in exchange for your services . . ."

Jaina tuned him out and focused instead on the man who slouched on the throne. He didn't _look_ like a Sith. She'd been expecting him to look, well . . . like the one standing next to him. Or Emperor Palpatine. She hadn't been expecting a fashionably dressed man in his late thirties who looked bored at Fel's speech.

In fact, the man didn't look very dangerous at all. He looked about as dangerous as Ganner Rhysode, whom she'd dated for a brief period at the age of nineteen. Of course, Ganner had had the misfortune to hook up with Alema Rar and from what Jaina had heard last, had a half-Twi'lek daughter named Mimi.

Rache was looking at her, and noticed her smile. "Something amusing, Knight Solo? Or do you have a better offer than the one the Empire has put forth?"

Fel was glaring at her. Jaina decided to ignore him. She should have been paying attention to what the Empire was dangling in front of Rache, because she had no idea if the offer the Republic had told her to make was better or not.

"Ten million Republic credits per standard year," she said. "As well as access to Republic technology for your fleet. Also, the total expunging of your record as pertaining to all crimes against the Republic."

Rache stared at her. "Formal pardoning for the lives I've taken? The Republic must really want my assistance."

Fel stepped forward, into Rache's line of sight. "My lord, the Empress would, naturally, overlook all records kept by the Republic once she has control of their portion of the gal-"

He stopped suddenly, and his pale green eyes widened. One hand went up to his throat.

Rache stood up, focused on Fel now. "You speak out of turn, Colonel," he said.

Fel nodded vigourously, but as he couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak. Rache released his hold and Fel staggered.

"My apologies, my lord-"

A gloved hand whipped out and struck Fel across the face. As the Imperial staggered back, Rache stretched out the fingers of the hand he'd just hit the man with. Dark tendrils of electricity flickered out and surrounded Fel. The man screamed and fell to the floor, writhing as Rache electrocuted him.

After a few moments, Rache apparently tired of that and lowered his hand. He savagely kicked Fel in the stomach.

Then, ever mercurial, the Sith Lord turned to Jaina. She forced herself not to take that instinctive step back, forced herself to stand her ground as he approached.

His eyes, she saw, were a deep green, with little flecks of brown in them. They were gorgeous eyes, heavily lashed. He was smiling now, faintly, as he looked at her.

Rache raised his hand. Jaina barely contained a flinch. His smile deepened.

A black-gloved finger trailed down her cheek. Jaina tried hard not to shiver. The Sith Lord's eyes were strangely warm as he gazed at her. She got the distinct impression he was seeing quite a bit.

Rache spun away and stalked over to the holographic map, his cape billowing behind him. "The Empire offers me wealth. I have that. Power. I have that, too. The Republic offers me pardons for my sins, on top of wealth, but no power."

He sounded amused, though it wasn't reflected on his face. He'd only smiled once since they'd entered the room, and that was when he'd been close to Jaina. "The Empire would turn me into a puppet. I've met Jade, delightful woman on occasion, but she would want me as an icon, a figurehead. A post-modern Darth Vader, if you will. It would be appropriate, after all, she was the Emperor's Hand. And I, well, I was trained by the one who killed Vader's son."

Anakin growled low in his throat and made as if to lunge at the Sith Lord, but Jaina held him back.

Green eyes narrowed consideringly as Rache looked at Anakin. "The cub has fangs," he murmured.

Rache pushed a few buttons, changing the view on the map. Jaina wasn't sure what he was doing, as he was changing systems too fast for her to track a pattern.

"No doubt, the Republic wants the same of me, though I doubt I'd be getting quite the same . . . personal attention from the Chief of State. And the Jedi probably want to 'redeem' me. Bring me back to the fold, the prodigal son and all of that."

"Kill you's more like it," Anakin muttered.

Rache grinned. "Of course, that, too."

On the floor, Fel groaned. Rache gave him a disgusted look. "The Empire has nothing that I want. The Republic, on the other hand . . ."

The Sith Lord dropped into his throne and placed his gloved hands on the armrests. "I'll join your little cause, mostly because it fits well with my own plans. But on one condition."

"Naturally," Jaina said. "And what would that be?"

"You, Jaina Solo, in my bed."

"No," Jaina said immediately.

Rache shrugged, looking as though he didn't care one way or the other. He probably didn't. He said, "Then you can forget your alliance."

"It's not _my_ alliance, Rache," she said hotly, cheeks flushing. "If it were up to me, I'd kill you."

He spread his arms, as if offering her a shot. His green eyes, though, told her he knew that she wouldn't take it.

"You're more than welcome to try," he said. "You'll have to get past my apprentice to do it, however."

The Sith gestured with his right hand and the cloaked figure who'd stood beside the throne this whole time stepped forward, pushing back his hood. He had long dark hair, tailed at the nape of his neck. His eyes were yellow, with a red ring around the burning iris. He was dressed in a much more sedate fashion than his master, entirely in black.

"Darth Reiniger," Rache said simply, as if the other Sith were an object.

"Jaina," Anakin whispered, moving closer to her. "Jaina, he seems familiar . . ."

Jaina had the same feeling, but she couldn't find where Reiniger fit in her memory.

Rache chuckled. "I'll give you a few days to consider," he said. "Make yourselves at home. Reiniger, please show our guests to their accomodations."  
  


\----------

Jaina's quarters were luxurious, austere but somehow elegant. Like everywhere else, the walls were dark and the lighting fairly low. But the furnishings, what there were of them, were of the highest quality.

She dropped her bag on the floor by the foot of the massive bed. She didn't feel, standing in this room, as if she was aboard a huge ship. It felt more like some rich crime lord's ostentatious palace, only with a really evil bent.

The bed was covered with black shimmersilk sheets and a coverlet of a deep, plush velvet, also black. The bed was actually made of wood, which was virtually unheard of, the finish black with a faint red highlight where the light grazed it.

In stark contrast to the black was a dress that someone had placed on the bed. It was a dark crimson, also of shimmersilk. A note on genuine _paper_ was on the bed beside the dress. Jaina picked it up.

"'Join me for dinner tonight'," she read aloud.

It wasn't signed, and she had to wonder how it had come to be here this quickly, but she knew who sent it. It couldn't be anyone other than Rache.

Jaina retrieved her bag and dug through it until she unburied a holocube. She flipped through the images until she found one of an outing that had taken place nearly twenty-four years before. Pictured were Jaina and her lost twin, Jacen, at two-and-a-half, with their father and a friend. Han held Jacen, while Jaina had her short arms wrapped tight around the neck of a young man with ragged black hair and smiling green eyes.

There was a knock at the door. She reached out with the Force and sensed Anakin. "Enter," she said.

Her brother entered cautiously. He sighed in relief when he saw they were alone. Then his gaze landed on the hologram and his expression tightened. Jaina turned it off and put it back in her bag.

Anakin whistled when he saw the dress. He picked it up and held it against his frame. "I didn't get a dress," he said. "And this would be a good colour on me."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "Consider yourself lucky. Besides, I don't think Rache wants to see you in a dress."

She took the dress. It was an expensive scrap of silk, probably costing more than her X-wing had. And it didn't look like it would cover much.

Her brother had picked up the note and his expression was dark. "Are you going to accept him?" he asked.

Jaina sighed. "I don't know. The Republic wants this alliance desperately. But his price is more than I want to pay to secure it. Especially when I don't believe in it in the first place."

"You _could_ tell him yes, and then delay until he loses interest," Anakin suggested.

"Something tells me Rache isn't going to lose interest," Jaina said. "I mean . . . Anakin, this dress is my size. And we've only been on this ship less than four hours.

"Lucky guess?" he brother ventured.

Her brown eyes narrowed as she looked at the dress. "Perhaps, but I'm going to find out for sure."

Anakin glared at the garment. "That is entirely too revealing."

"I don't even have it on yet!"

"And I'm sure it will only get worse."


	4. Chapter 4

**\--Chapter Four--**  
  
Anakin was right. It got worse. The dress was practically indecent. She was tempted to call it intimate wear rather than formal. Then again, that was probably Rache's intention in the first place. Well, if he thought she was just going to give in, he was in for a big surprise.

The dress was floor-length, but there was a slit up the front of the skirt, almost high enough to void any point in a skirt. The sides were virtually non-existant, leaving her bare from underarm to hip. The neckline plunged in a deep drape to her navel, barely covering essentials, and the back was so low that the skirt began at the lower part of the small of her back. The straps were incredibly thin across the shoulders. There was no way to wear any undergarments with it, and she was very conscious of that fact as she stepped out of the refresher.

Anakin's blue eyes nearly fell out of his head. "You are _not_ wearing that!"

Jaina eyed it from _her_ perspective and said, "I'm not sure if this counts as wearing it."

She unbraided her hair and the dark waves fell to mid-thigh, covering her back. It helped a bit, but came far short of pleasing Anakin. "That's a little better," he said. "But I still think Mom would have a fit."

"Mom isn't here," his sister said. "And if anyone knows the necessity of drastic measures, it would be her."

"She'd still hate it."

"Yes, she would." Jaina looked at her reflection and snorted. "Nice to know he thinks I can pull off one of these ridiculous things."

"He's not thinking of _you_ pulling it off," Anakin said caustically.

She flushed. "I'd be more comfortable in a flightsuit."

"No doubt. I'd be more comfortable with you in a flightsuit, too, Jaya. I can't believe I'm letting you do this."

Jaina glanced around. "I'm forgetting something . . ."

"Your clothes, perhaps? You *did* notice there's no place for your lightsaber in that, right?"  
  


\----------

An underling came to fetch Jaina that evening. She had a cloak on over the dress and felt much better, but dreaded when the cloak came off, as it inevitably would. Since she was practically naked, she decided the best defense was a good offense. Attitude sometimes worked just as well as armor.

She was guided to a doorway somewhere at the top of the ship. The doors were large and black and forbidding. Jaina's courage wavered as she found herself standing alone before them. For several moments, she wondered what she should do. Should she knock? Just walk in?

Before she could decide, the doors swung open, seemingly on their own. She drew a deep breath and walked in. The door closed behind her with a heavy clang. Jaina didn't notice because she was too busy gaping at her surroundings.

A large fireplace, of white marble veined in black, dominated one wall. There was a real fire burning in it. The room was floored in the same marble. The furniture was black and overstuffed. An ebony table stood in front of the fire; it was small and intimately set.

There was a curtained alcove off to her left, the drapery a deep red. The bed was probably back there, and if her quarters were any indication, it was big. And soft.

Jaina found herself blushing at the image, and cursed her wayward thoughts.

"Well, you've certainly got the colour coordination down," Jaina said to the figure seated at the table.

Rache rose from his chair. He was, this time, dressed in deceptive simplicity: black leggings, a dark green shirt left open to expose his muscled chest, which was lightly dusted with black hair. He had bare feet, and his hair was loose to curl on his shoulders. He stalked over, no other word for it, and took her cloak. His hands were bare this time, his fingers warm on her skin, lingering in a manner she thought quite unnecessary.

 _The shirt matches his eyes_ , she thought as he stepped back around to study her.

"Lovely," he murmured.

"Enjoy the view, because that's all you're getting," she snapped.

"Don't challenge me, Jaina," he purred, moving uncomfortably close.

She forced herself to look into his face. "Give me one good reason."

Those dark green eyes raked over her, leaving her with no false impression of his intentions. "You couldn't channel the Force in that dress," he purred. "There isn't enough room in there for it to squeeze through. Around, maybe."

Jaina lifted her hand to slap him, but he caught her hand and raised an eyebrow. She would have expected him to get angry and hit her, but he used the grip to pull her towards the table, where he exerted pressure on her arm and made her sit.

They ate in silence. Jaina was aware of his constant gaze and tried to move as little as possible; the dress had a tendency to shift in unwanted directions.

"I was going to give you a day or two to decide, but I find that I'm an impatient man," Rache said, as he passed her a wine goblet. "And I simply can't wait that long."

Jaina nearly dropped the goblet. "I'm sorry, I don't sleep with mass murderers on a first-coercion basis."

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Oh, I didn't expect it to be tonight."

She nearly sighed aloud with relief, but it must have been visible on her face because he chuckled. He didn't say anything, but he was definitely amused.

"You aren't how I imagined a Sith."

Rache shrugged. "Once I got past the insane rage, I realised there were other ways to get what I wanted than to blow it up."

"What happened to _your_ master?" she blurted.

Dark eyes met hers, lifting from her cleavage. "I disposed of him. After all, he taught me everything he knew."

Jaina felt a chill slide over her skin that had nothing to do with so much of it being exposed. How could she even consider giving him the opportunity?

He leaned back in his chair, drawing her gaze to his chest. She had to admit that physically, he was rather appealing. Once again, she scolded her brain.

"What's it going to be, Jaina? Sacrifice yourself for the good of the galaxy, or let the Empire take the rest of what your family fought so hard for?"

She swallowed hard. "How dare you speak that way about my family?"

"I didn't kill your father," he said. "I may have helped Exar Kun kill Luke Skywalker, but I didn't kill Han Solo."

"He's still dead because of you," she responded.

"He was the best friend I had," the man across from her murmured. "There are a lot of things I don't regret, but his death is one of the few things I do."

Jaina shoved away from the table and bolted for the door. He caught her well before she reached it and spun her around, dragging her hard against his chest.

"Your answer," he demanded.

"You're not good for the galaxy," she spat.

He bent his head, hovering just shy of kissing her. "I could be good for you."

"I doubt that." Jaina wanted to pull away, but couldn't. Almost didn't want to. It figured that the most dangerous man in the galaxy she was disturbingly attracted to.

"Yes or no?" he prompted.

"Fine," she said. "But when will be on _my_ terms."

His lips brushed hers. "I think I can agree to that."

Jaina tried to duck, but he captured her lips before she could put up more than a cursory struggle. She shoved against his chest, but curled her fingers into his shirt as he bent her backwards.

Desire rolled over her like a dense fog, sudden and powerful. She knew he was manipulating her, controlling her mind somehow, heightening what she was feeling, but for several eternal moments, it didn't matter.

He drew back, pulling her upright, leaving her flushed and very confused. Jaina bit her lip, one hand holding the front of her dress in place.

"I look forward to this," he said.

She hesitated. "Kyp-"

He jerked back as if she'd hit him in the face with a bag full of dried duracrete. "That name holds no meaning for me," he snarled.

Jaina stumbled back, the fog fading.

"Get out!" he thundered, gesturing with the Force and throwing the doors open.

She fled.  
  


\----------

A shadow separated itself from the wall as a woman in a far-too-scanty red dress dashed past him. She'd lost one of her red shoes, he noticed as he paused at the doors to his master's inner sanctum.

Rache was slumped into one of the chairs at the table, looking thoroughly enraged. His eyes at that moment were the Sithly yellow that Reiniger's were all the time.

"I take it things did not go well?" Reiniger asked.

Rache looked up at his apprentice. "They went fairly well, but the little fool forgot her place."

"She's a Solo. I doubt she thinks she has one."

The Sith Lord straightened and shoved a hand through his hair. "Which is what attracts me to her. I've been watching her since the war. If I had her, the granddaughter of Darth Vader . . ."

"Are you planning on turning Anakin, as well?" Reiniger asked.

Rache paused. "I hadn't considered that possibility yet. To have all three . . ."

His eyes had bled back to normal now that he was calmed. He studied Reiniger. "Go find her. Make sure that no one accosts her. I made a misjudgement with her attire and I don't particularly want anyone to see her in it."

Reiniger bowed and left with a swirl of his cloak.  
  


\----------

Anakin found Jaina first. She was wandering through the maze-like corridors, limping, confused and dishevelled. Wordlessly, he took off the top-most layer of his robes, wrapped it around his sister, and carried her back to her quarters.

"What happened?" he asked.

Jaina shook her head. "I found the way to make him less amorous," she murmured. "All I had to do was call him by his birthname instead of that ridiculous title he goes by these days."

"Did he hurt you?" Anakin demanded.

She looked at her wrists. Funny, there were no bruises. He was evil, he'd killed billions . . . but with her, even when he was being domineering, he was uncharacteristically gentle. It was hard to wrap her mind around.

"No," she said slowly. "He even . . ."

Jaina trailed off, and looked up at her brother. "He said he regrets that Dad died."

Anakin's mouth dropped open. He looked stunned.

"I know he's evil, Anakin, but . . . I swear I can see the old Kyp in him, the one in those old holovids Dad took when we were little."

Her brother sat beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Jaina, he's _not_ Kyp Durron anymore, and he hasn't been for over twenty years."

She bowed her head. "I know. And it's occurred to me that maybe he told me he regretted Dad's death to try to sway me."

"Given what we know of Rache, I'd say that's likely."

Anakin left Jaina to put something decent on and get some sleep. As he stepped into the corridor, he saw Reiniger approaching. Anakin's hand moved instinctively towards his lightsaber.

Reiniger sneered. "Lord Rache wants to know if Mistress Solo is all right."

"She's fine," Anakin said. "No thanks to your master. Tell him that if he does anything to Jaina, I _will_ kill him."

The Sith's eyes flicked over Anakin, measuring him. He took a step backwards. Without another word, Reiniger left. Anakin leaned against the door for several seconds. Was he the only one around here who still had his wits about him?  
  


\----------

Dressed now in leggings and a loose shirt, Jaina lay on the bed in her quarters, but she did not sleep.

She hated him, this man who now called himself Rache, for so many things. For enabling Exar Kun to kill her uncle Luke; for stealing the _Suncrusher_ and blowing up Carida, prompting her father to go after him; for her father's death, though that had been by Imperials who had been trying to shoot the _Suncrusher_ and had destroyed the _Millenium Falcon_ instead. For her twin brother's death, also at the hands of Exar Kun, when they were so little.

And now she hated him for manipulating her, toying with her the way he had. Demanding things of her she didn't want to give, invading her mind to make her think that maybe she _did_ want to give them to him, that for one moment in time, she would have given him anything he'd asked for.

Jaina had to shore up her defenses, because she knew that if she hadn't called him Kyp tonight, hadn't enraged him with a reminder of who he had been once, she would have given herself to him without a thought.

She couldn't do that. Not to a man she hated with every breath in her body. No matter how much she wanted him.

So her only option was to wait, hold him off until the Republic had succeeded in their battle against the Empire . . .

And then she would kill him.


	5. Chapter 5

**\--Chapter Five--**  
  
Jaina and Anakin were eating their morning meal when a rumble deep within the ship announced that they had entered hyperspace.

"Guess we're on our way," Jaina said.

"Yeah, but where to? Did you and Rache discuss that while he was trying to relieve you of your clothing?" her brother asked.

"He didn't try anything," Jaina murmured. At the horrified look on her brother's face, she realised how that had sounded, and added, "He kissed me, but nothing else happened. And no, we didn't discuss it. I would assume we're going to Yavin, though."

Anakin sighed heavily. "Kam's going to _love_ it when this thing drops out of hyperspace at the academy."

The thought of this ship in orbit around the jungle moon was rather incongruous, and Jaina had to hold back a laugh.

"I think Rache's agreement to join us was a little sudden," Anakin said. "I'll bet he'd already decided to go along with whatever we approached him with before we even offered."

Jaina nodded. "You're probably right."

The door to the sitting room between their quarters opened and both looked up as Rache strode in. Jaina had a brief moment of recollection when the events of last night flashed through her mind, but she did what she could to ignore it and turned to their host.

"Rache," she said tightly.

He gave her a long, intense look that revealed nothing of what he was thinking, and then he broke contact, turning instead to greet Anakin.

"We're on our way to Yavin," Rache said. "We should be there within the next forty hours."

Anakin's eyebrows went up. "It took us a week."

"Yes, but you were stopping and inquiring as to my whereabouts," Rache pointed out, smiling as if he were an old friend. "And the hyperdrive engines on this vessel are to much higher standards than the old XJX wings you're flying. Actually, I have a selection of the latest fighters in one of the hangars, if the two of you would like to inspect them. A selection of XJ5s and StealthX fighters. Those would be the ones that my personal squadron flew yesterday to escort you in."

Jaina's eyes narrowed. "In exchange for what, Rache?" she asked coolly.

Dark green eyes slanted her way. "So suspicious."

"You're a Sith Lord, _Rache_ , of course I'm going to be suspicious. Your very nature is not to do something unless it benefits you in some way."

Rache shrugged, amused by the emphasis she'd put on his name. "Naturally, if I'm going to join sides with the Jedi, I'll want them equipped with the best. Besides . . . your little group accepted my help before."

Jaina set down her fork. "I _knew_ you were the one who donated the X-wings."

"Very good, Jedi Solo," Rache said. He drew it out, a wealth of meaning in each word. Jaina tried to ignore the bait.

Anakin was looking between them as if watching a smashball match.

"Why would you give us new fighters?" she asked. Demanded, really.

Rache's eyes looked her up and down. "Oh, they're a freebie. Trust me, I'll be adequately compensated."

She considered, briefly, jabbing him in the eye with her fork. "When it snows on Tatooine," she snapped.

Black brows lifted. "If you'd like, I can turn the ship around . . ."

Jaina glared at him. If looks could kill, he'd have gone up in smoke.

Rache smirked at her. He looked back at Anakin. "If _you_ would like a fighter, feel free to look them over. They're in Docking Bay 27."  
  


\----------

Out of loyalty to his sister, Anakin stayed away from Docking Bay 27. Later that morning, he watched as Jaina paced the length of the sitting room.

"He's got me trapped and he knows it," Jaina was muttering. "I tell him no, he drops the agreement. But I can't give in because that would be _bad_."

"Maybe you could use it against him," Anakin suggested after she'd gone through this line of reasoning about ten times.

Jaina stopped and blinked at him, as if just now remembering his presence. "Huh? How could I use it against him?"

"Well, I'd suggest stabbing him with his own lightsaber while he's asleep, but that would be akin to letting him back out of the agreement," her brother said wryly. "My thought is . . . Uncle Luke brought our grandfather back from the Dark Side, and Mom brought Uncle Luke back before I was born. Maybe you could . . ."

Her brown eyes widened with comprehension. "You think I can do that?" she breathed.

Anakin frowned. She looked a little too hopeful. "I think you can do anything you put your mind to, General Solo."

Jaina waved that off. "I haven't been a general since shortly after the war."

He smirked, knowing she disliked how quickly she'd risen to the rank during the three-year clash. Half of her commanding officers had died before Rache's army had come in and finished off the Vong at the Battle of Coruscant, not long after which Jaina had been appointed General.

She sat down in the chair next to him. "Anakin, I don't know if I can do this. I loathe the man, how can I even contemplate it?"

"You'll figure out a way," her brother assured her. "Just give it time."

Jaina ran her hands through her hair. "I'm going to go find a place to train. I think best when I'm pounding the poodoo out of something."

Anakin watched her leave, thinking that was probably why Rache wanted her.  
  


\----------

Rache had told her and Anakin that they were free to roam the top three decks of his ship; she discovered quickly that it took security clearances to go anywhere else within the behemoth. Of course, she could probably hack into the security system and give herself permission to go anywhere--that or just cajole Rache into giving it to her, though the thought made her cringe--but she really wasn't that curious. Yet.

When Jaina had been fifteen, Anakin almost fourteen, the Shadow Academy had attacked the Yavin academy and killed several of the students; Jaina, Anakin, and Zekk had been kidnapped and forced to train here until several of the Jedi, her mother included, had managed to rescue them. At that point, Jaina had had a crush on Zekk, but by the time she was sixteen, that had faded and the eighteen-year-old Zekk had turned his sights on seventeen-year-old Tenel Ka. That was fine with Jaina; she'd known even at sixteen that her romantic future didn't include Zekk.

The central ring of the academy had been modified; the student cells had been ripped out and refurbished into the luxurious cabins given to guests, though she doubted Rache had many of those. The training rooms, however, were exactly where she remembered them.

She suppressed a shudder as she entered the lightsaber training room, which was lined on all sides of the cube except the floor with seats for anti-grav sparring matches. Jaina turned on the lights and stood for a moment; funny how someplace she hadn't been for over ten years could still give her a chill.

She pushed away the dread and ignited her lightsaber, the green blade sparking to life. It wasn't really _her_ weapon; it had been her uncle Luke's. Her mother had presented it to her when she was fourteen, and Jaina had spent a good week repairing the damage inflicted by Exar Kun. As the eldest Solo child, she had felt it was her duty to use the blade to bring Han and Luke's killer to justice.

Funny that now, on the very being's ship, she found herself unable to do it.

Jaina ran through some exercises, swinging the blade and letting it hum through the air. She closed her eyes, relying on the Force and the many, many hours of practice she'd put in with Kam Solusar, and with Corran Horn before he'd died on Ithor.

She whirled and there was a crack of blade against blade. Jolted out of her trance, Jaina's eyes flew open. Rache stood with the red blade of his lightsaber blocking hers. His smile was incredibly sardonic and dark.

"I see you carry Luke's blade," he said.

"I keep it so I can use it to kill the person who took his life," she said tightly.

Rache took a step back and raised his hands in a "go ahead and try" gesture. He tossed in a small taunt, asking, "What blade does Anakin use? Your father didn't have one."

Rage momentarily overpowered common sense and she swung at him. Moving faster than she'd expected, Rache blocked her again, casually, with just a flick of his wrist.

He took a step forward, driving her back, forcing her to take the defense. Jaina felt a small thrill go through her. She was in no danger, she knew; he wanted to seduce her, not kill her. But it was nice, in a disturbing way, to feel challenged in swordplay.

Jaina's retreat lasted only moments, and with a side-step and a twist of her arms, she once again had the upper hand. One of Rache's brows lifted.

"You have excellent footwork," he commented. "And I haven't seen skill like yours in a good many years. Not since I fought your uncle. I would think, actually, that you have passed him in prowess."

"I'll never know," she spat, "since you killed him!"

Their blades met, cracked, sending sparks flying. Jaina thrust and he parried. Sparring, rather than genuine fighting. She knew she could probably kill him if she really wanted to, but something held her back, something more than thoughts of the alliance.

"Jaina, is this all you are? A living weapon in the hands of the Jedi? The sword of the Jedi?" He seemed to contemplate that as he side-stepped a vicious swing. "I like that. The Sword of the Jedi."

They locked blades. Jaina had less upper-body muscle, but he was at an awkward angle that evened out their differences. Her arm muscles strained to keep him back.

Suddenly, Rache winked at her. Distracted, Jaina frowned . . . and he corrected his stance. The abrupt movement sent her blade flying out of her hands, deactivating when it hit the floor.

"I win."

"You cheated!" she exclaimed.

"Duh." He tossed his weapon aside, swept his leg behind hers, and bore her to the floor.

The impact, squashed between Rache and the cold steel floor, left her breathless. She blinked rapidly and tried to shove him off. He had her pinned, though, and his grin told her he was perfectly aware of their position.

"Off," she ordered.

"What about my winnings?"

Jaina scoffed. "What winnings?"

"You know . . . to the victor go the spoils." He had one knee between hers, one hand holding him barely above crushing her, and the other hand wrapped in her hair. He used his grasp to urge her head back.

His lips found the pulsepoint just below the corner of her jaw. Suddenly, it was very warm in the practice room. Jaina wasn't even aware of the metal beneath her.

She sighed as his mouth moved to cover hers and her fingers fell from his tunic, no longer pushing him away. Rache made a satisfied noise deep in his chest and shifted to get more comfortable.

Perhaps a little _too_ comfortable, Jaina realised. And she was letting him.

She reached up and buried her hands in his hair, returning the kiss with almost enough force to bruise. He approved, if the small groan he gave was any indication.

Then she brought her knee up, hard, and he rolled off of her, emitting a noise not unlike the whine of a repulsor engine. She scrambled to her feet as Rache coughed. Jaina retrieved her lightsaber and stood over him as he hunched on all floors, face red.

" _My_ terms, Durron," she said sweetly. "Remember that. You should try playing nice once in a while."

Then she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**\--Chapter Six--**  
  
She and Rache avoided each other for the rest of the fairly short trip, though she found a note on her pillow when she woke the next morning that said, simply, "Your point."

Somehow, even with just those two words, it promised retribution when she least expected it. And it didn't scare her as much as she knew it should. But then, Rache's techniques, at least when it came to her, ran less toward the violent and more toward the sensual.

The monstrous ship dropped out of hyperspace into a high orbit above Yavin in the late afternoon. It maneuvered into an orbit around the moon. Jaina glanced through the cockpit of her X-wing and saw the ship silhouetted against the brilliant orange backdrop of the gas giant. The Eradicator reminded her strongly of a giant spider.

Not an inapt comparison, she reflected. Rache would be the spider, spinning his web and slowly drawing her in.

Jaina's fingers played over the handle of her uncle's lightsaber. Soon, she promised herself. Soon she would avenge her family and the galaxy.  
  


\----------

Rache and his apprentice came down to the surface in a sleek vessel with a sheen to the outer hull that looked like an oil spill. The ship was black, but colours raced across it as she shifted from foot to foot, studying it.

Jaina looked over at the gathered Jedi. The entire Council was here, along with several knights and apprentices who weren't out on missions. Her mother, as leader of the council, had the point position, and Jaina and Anakin stood slightly behind her and to her left.

The ramp on the small vessel lowered. Two guards, in black uniforms, came down the ramp first, followed by Reiniger. The Sith apprentice had his hood up, hiding his disturbingly familiar face.

Then Rache appeared, in all his evil glory. Dressed head to toe in black, all of it stylishly cut, he strode down the ramp and stopped, surveying the gathered from the shadows of his deep cowl. Then he tossed the hood back. From the murmurs behind her, Jaina figured that no one had expected the handsome face that looked upon them.

Even from several yards away, Jaina felt the pull of his charisma. It was no wonder that he had such a large army. She hated his very existence and part of her wanted to throw herself at his feet and call him Master.

That would probably be a bad thing. And Anakin would never let her live it down.

Rache bowed to Leia, and there didn't seem to be any mockery in it. "Master Solo. I am . . . honoured to be invited to this hallowed ground."

Kam took a step forward, but Leia held up a hand and stalled him. "This was not an invitation issued without great reservation," she reminded the Sith Lord. "You are here at the request of the Republic, not the Jedi, Rache."

There was definite amusement on Rache's face as he bowed his head. "My apologies, Master Solo. Naturally, the Jedi would never willingly welcome one of the fallen back to the fold, would they?"

"You have not come back to the fold, Rache," Leia said quietly. "And while we have taken in some who have fallen, your betrayal precludes you from that honour."

Rache straightened, and something frightening moved behind his eyes. "I will keep that in mind, _Leia_. Now, shouldn't we be negotiating something? Since you so obviously do not want me here, let's try to make it as short as possible, hmm?"

"Let's," Kam said.

Jaina looked at Anakin as the group turned to enter the temple. Her brother shrugged.  
  


\----------

The negotiations lasted well into the evening, and then adjourned for the night, to be resumed in the morning. From what little her mother told her, Rache wanted quite a bit, but Jaina wasn't informed as to what.

She'd spent just long enough on Rache's ship that she wasn't quite on the same schedule as the rest of the jungle moon. After an hour or so of fitful tossing and turning, Jaina pulled on a heavy robe that had belonged to her father years ago and ventured out into the academy proper.

After grabbing a snack from the kitchens, she took the turbolift up to the grand audience chamber. Sometimes, when she was feeling down, she sat in the chair that represented her uncle and thought, wondering what it would be like if Luke and her father were still alive.

Tonight, though, she found a dark figure sitting in that very chair.

"Get out of that chair, right now," she growled as she mounted the last few steps.

Dark green eyes lifted, momentarily stunning her into silence. "Or what, Jaina? You'll _make_ me?"

"How dare you sit there? How _dare_ you? You killed him, and now you want to sit in his seat?"

"I didn't kill him, Jaina. Exar Kun did that while I was at Carida. You know that as well as I do. Unless you've been fed propaganda by your mother and the rest of the council. Yes, I was the tool that Exar Kun used to attack Skywalker. I admit that. But do you have any idea what possession is like? He possessed me, mind, body, and soul, and through him I did things that turned me into what I am today."

He rose in one motion and strode to the windows. Jaina fought the urge to find some cleaning products and disinfect the chair.

"Oh, yes, retreat behind the excuse that he made you do it."

He whirled so fast his cloak billowed and snapped, the sound loud in the echoing chamber. "You're right. I chose to listen to Kun. I chose to destroy Qwi Xux's mind. And yes, I chose to destroy Carida. I _chose_ to have my mind taken away from me when I was sixteen. I chose to kill the only people who had treated me like one of their own since my parents died. Yes, I chose this life."

The sarcasm was as sharp as a vibroblade.

Jaina hesitated, a retort on her lips. Maybe Anakin was right. Or maybe he was trying to get under her skin. He was good at manipulation, she knew that already.

"You ruin everything good," she hissed. "Everything you touch dies. Is that what you want to do to me, Durron?"

"Everything dies, Solo. Doesn't matter if I touch it or not. It's the natural order of things."

"Does that mean you have to help things along?"

He turned then, his eyes glittering pools of black in the moonlight spilling through the floor-to-ceiling windows. "What are you trying to prove, Jaina? I'm a monster. I have no hesitation about saying it. And you're a good little girl, of course. The princess of the Jedi. Of course, if you're trying to convince _yourself_ that I'm a monster because you like the idea . . ."

She snorted. "If you want me to sleep with you, this is definitely not the way to do it."

Kyp suddenly moved towards her. Reacting on instinct, Jaina backed up until she reached the wall. Suddenly finding her escape cut off, she straightened and glared at him.

"Don't provoke me, little Jedi," he whispered, the sound harsh in her ears. "If you poke a sleeping gundark with a stick, it's going to bite off more than the stick."

"Don't you dare touch me," she rasped. "You do and I'll scream."

"You agreed, Jaina. You've already sealed your fate. I'll have you, one way or another. It's only a matter of time." He ducked his head. "Besides, I don't _have_ to touch you."

His lips brushed hers. As she had every time before, Jaina found herself submitting, but this time, there was something very sneaky about the way he was kissing her. Nothing demanding, nothing forceful, almost like he was asking rather than ordering.

He was right, he didn't have to touch her. Even as much as she loathed him, she found herself leaning forward, her hands skimming up the front of his silky tunic. She hated herself for letting him do this to her, for wanting him.

"You see, Jaina," he murmured against her lips. "We could be so good together. All you have to do is give yourself to me, and you could have everything you've ever wanted."

She pulled back. "Not everything, Durron. It won't bring my family back."

When she walked out this time, he leaned against the wall for several moments to catch his breath. Her rejection of him _again_ was an annoyance, one he almost would have called an ache. That is, if he'd had anything resembling a heart that _could_ ache.

He lashed out in anger to mask the disturbing, unfamiliar feeling, and struck the wall with his fist.

When the fog of rage passed, he looked down at his mangled hand and the untouched wall. With a sigh, he went off to find the infirmary.  
  


\----------

He was not even remotely surprised to find the healer already there, working on something or other. He didn't care what.

She was a female Mon Calamari, her coral skin tinged with turquoise. Her large eyes swivelled his way.

For a moment, they just stared at each other.

"You must be Kyp," she said

His jaw clenched, but he didn't correct her. The only person he was going to let call him Kyp was Jaina, primarily because she insisted and because if he let her, it might bring her closer.

However, something about this Jedi told him she wouldn't call him by his title. He would permit it just this once, because he needed her help.

"I . . . am," he said.

Her eyes went to his hand, which was swollen and purple and hurt like nothing he'd felt in years, not since he'd finally destroyed Kun and nearly destroyed himself in the process.

"You're hurt," she said.

"I would think, having a broken hand, that would be obvious," Kyp responded snidely.

"Let's see to it, then," she said, and motioned him further into the infirmary.

He did, with a sense of impending doom, which was completely ridiculous.  
Wasn't it?


	7. Chapter 7

**\--Chapter Seven--**  
  
Jaina found herself knocking on Anakin's door not long after she left Rache in the audience chamber. Her brother answered almost immediately, and he was still dressed.

"Jay?" he asked, as he stepped aside to let her in.

"I just fought off Rache _again_ ," she said.

Anakin sighed. "Well, you did agree to his terms. That's likely to give him ideas."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm perfectly aware of that, little brother."

"So what's the problem? I thought you were going to keep leading him on and then kill him when the Empire's taken care of." Anakin gestured for her to sit down on the only available surface, which was the foot of his sleeping palette. Every other surface was covered with droid parts. Pretty much like Jaina's quarters.

Jaina ran her fingers through her hair. Then she picked up a droid motivator off the table near her arm and started playing with it. "I just . . . I don't understand why I even let him kiss me. I never think to stop him until he's already doing it. It blindsides me every time, even when I know it's coming."

Anakin sat down beside her. "Don't ask me. My experience with this kind of thing is pretty limited. I mean, there hasn't been anyone since- since Tahiri."

Jaina wrapped her arm around her brother's shoulder, though it was hard to do given how much taller he was. "I know. And this isn't something I can go to Mom with. I can just see it. 'Mom, I've got the hots for the guy who killed Uncle Luke and who should have died instead of Dad. Do you have any advice?' She'd probably send me to Hapes and have Teneniel lock me up."

Her brother shrugged, unintentionally dislodging her arm. "Maybe he's using mind powers on you? He's an incredibly powerful telekinetic."

"He did the first time. The second I'm not so sure about. But tonight he didn't. And I don't know why." She shivered. "Anakin, you said something about redeeming him. Where did you get that idea?"

"Uh . . ."

Jaina looked up at him. "C'mon, Anakin, you wouldn't have said anything about it before unless you had reason. You didn't want me anywhere near him the night before."

Anakin stood up and paced across the room to one of the work stations on the far wall. He turned to face her, started to say something, and then stopped. Finally, he sighed heavily and said, "I had a dream. After you went to bed. In it . . . I saw you and Rache- you and _Kyp_ fighting side by side against a woman with red hair. He had his red lightsaber, but he wasn't dressed as he dresses now. And something about him just looked different. I don't know, maybe it was just a dream."

He shook his head, the dark locks flopping. For a moment he looked lost in thought, and then he smiled at her. "Things will work out fine. Just . . . be careful, Jaina."  
  


\----------

Jaina had a surprise the next morning. Her best friends, Tenel Ka and Zekk, had arrived from Hapes, so she spent the day out in the jungle with them. They'd noticed the wicked-looking warship in orbit, so she told them as much as she was able to. She'd tell Tenel Ka about the kisses later, but not in front of Zekk. Her friend might do something rash and stupid.

Zekk was especially concerned when she told him of the deal with Rache, and what he wanted in exchange for his cooperation. Tenel Ka was more interested in what else he was attempting to bargain for during the negotiation that was going on even now.

"Why do we have to negotiate twice?" Zekk asked, as they lounged around their favourite pool. "Why are we even negotiating with him in the first place?"

"Because," Jaina said, "he has a very large fleet. And he apparently knows a great deal about the workings of the Empire."

"How do you know that?" Zekk sounded suspicious of this news.

It was Tenel Ka who responded. "My grandmother, who supports the Empire for some reason, says that Empress Jade wants Rache as her consort. She is the one who gave him the Super Star Destroyer he turned into that monstrosity."

She gestured up to the sky, where the spiny shape was barely visible as it passed in front of the gas giant. Naturally, she would feel that way, since Rache's confiscation of one of the Hapan battle dragons destroyed at Fondor by the Peace Brigade.

Jaina decided it was time to change the subject. "Are you looking forward to being the future consort?" she teased Zekk.

Tenel Ka gave her betrothed one of her rare smiles. "He does not look forward to being my consort if I should become Queen Mother-"

"-But I'm looking forward to having her as my wife," Zekk said. "Even if it means being decorative, but not functional."

The two gazed fondly at each other. Jaina made gagging sounds and flopped back on the sand.

After a few minutes, Zekk went to cool off in the water. Jaina stared up at the tiny shape of the _Eradicator_ and sighed.

"This Rache," Tenel Ka said.

Jaina almost groaned. "Yeah?"

"There is more than you have told us."

Brown eyes rolled heavenward as Jaina sat up. "Yup. Of course there is. Let's see, what should I start with, the fact that he made me wear a completely sleazy dress for dinner, or the fact that he keeps kissing me and I can't figure out why I keep letting him?"

Tenel Ka's grey eyes looked on her with a solemnity that was surprisingly hard to find since the other woman had become engaged. Jaina tried not to flinch under the scrutinizing gaze.

"I am surprised, Jaina, that you have not figured it out yourself. You have said he is an attractive man. And it is natural to be attracted to dangerous men."

Jaina shook her head. "I think it's . . . I _hate_ him, Tenel Ka! I hate him more than I've hated anyone in my life, including the Vong. I can even hate him as long as we're arguing, but as soon as he turns that look on me, it's like I have no will power of my own."

"Could he be forcing his will on you?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "Maybe. Anakin already suggested that. Rache said last night that he wasn't, but he's a Sith, lying is part of who he is."

"This Rache, from what you have told me, sounds like a remarkably honest Sith," her best friend observed.

"Yeah, he's real honourable," Jaina snorted. She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, suddenly cold despite the hot jungle air and sunlight. She shivered. "What's happening to me?"

Tenel Ka looked over at Zekk, who was doing laps around the pool. "I do not know, friend Jaina. But I hope that you are not in danger."

"I'm the Sword of the Jedi, of course I'm in-" Jaina froze.

One of her friend's red brows lifted. "What is it?"

"He called me the Sword of the Jedi. I didn't think about it before, but something . . ." She shook her head almost violently. "Force, I'm so stupid!"

Tenel Ka watched with bemusement as Jaina jumped up, shoved her feet into her boots, and gathered her outer garments. "Where are you going?"

"To find a certain Sith lord and smack him for messing around in my head."  
  


\----------

Something was troubling her daughter.

Leia knew this, but couldn't really find a way to broach the subject with her independent offspring. She hadn't been able to really communicate with Jaina since Duro. That had partially been her fault, Leia knew. She'd let her injury widen the gulf that had come between them since the beginning of the war.

But even if they didn't talk as much as they used to, Leia could still see that something was keeping Jaina on edge.

Rache, probably, she reflected. The Sith wanted Jaina as his continuing liaison. Leia had the feeling that he wanted Jaina for more than that, however, and that was likely the trouble. He wanted something, something that he wasn't putting forth in the negotiations. Of course, it was natural that he'd have an ulterior motive. He was a Sith, and it was to be expected.

Her hand curled in her lap as she thought of everything he'd stolen from her. Rache had taken her brother, and then his rampage had led to the death of her husband, the father of her children. And his betrayal had cost her the life of her son.

She still remembered that night clearly. Exar Kun's spirit had sent horrible, terrifying beasts, evil things created through the dark side of the Force. He'd sent them to kill Luke. Jacen, amazingly, had taken up his uncle's lightsaber and fought them off . . . until one of them had snatched the little boy and carried him away, far away through the very window Leia now watched the galaxy through.

Nearly twenty-four years later, Leia still carried the grief of those horrifying days. She was afraid she had let it weigh on her children. Besides losing their father and uncle, Jaina had lost her twin. Leia knew the young woman had felt that missing piece of her every day of her life since. Anakin had the burden of his grandfather's name, and the loss of his first love, Tahiri, during the war.

And now the man who had caused them so much pain was here on Yavin, for the first time since he'd struck Luke down and stolen the _Suncrusher_ from the heart of the gas giant where he had helped bury it. Leia supposed that he still had the thing. It was too useful a weapon for a Sith to relinquish, even if his methods had changed from rash and passionate to cool and calculating.

Leia closed her eyes against the light and let herself fall back in memory, to a time when her family was whole, and the man who stalked the dark spaces of the galaxy had been nothing more than a boy, experiencing the good things of life for what must have felt like the first time.

Han had found Kyp in Kessel, an unfortunate victim of Palpatine's regime. The boy had been in the prison since he was eight years old. Leia knew Palpatine would have used the boy if he could, which was ironic considering what Kyp later turned out as. But for all his bluster and rough edges then, there had been something innocent about the teenager.

He had loved playing with the children, helping Han with the Falcon, even if he didn't have many mechanical skills. Jaina in particular had followed him around for the month that Kyp had stayed with them in their old apartment on Coruscant, not long before Leia had had a short term as Chief of State. She'd worshipped the young man, and every third word had been "Kyppie".

She wondered if Jaina remembered any of this, or if it was one of the painful memories her child shoved into the recesses of her mind, only to be pulled out in nightmares.

Maybe it was better that Jaina not remember that Kyp had been good once. It was too dangerous for her otherwise. The women of their family, after all, had a history of falling in love with dangerous men.  
  


\----------

Jaina slammed the door to her quarters and threw herself down on her bed. She'd hunted all over the academy for the kriffing man, and in an ironic twist, the one time she'd _wanted_ his presence, it was as if he'd vanished.

He had to have been in her head at some point, to pull out the sword reference. When she was twenty and her mother had finally agreed she should be knighted, Leia had imparted a few words to her after the knighting, had told her that even though Jaina was devoted to the Jedi, she wanted her daughter to be happy and to be more than just a sword for the Jedi.

Her mother had known her well. Jaina had spent the five years since then being nothing but. And in the years before, since the beginning of the war, she hadn't been anything else but a weapon then, either.

But maybe . . . maybe it wasn't something he'd pulled from her head. Maybe she _was_ nothing but the Sword of the Jedi. Perhaps it was something that even a Sith Lord could see, that she had no other calling than this.

Jaina closed her eyes against the tears that suddenly threatened to fall. She didn't _want_ to just be a weapon. She wanted more than that. She wanted what Zekk and Tenel Ka were looking forward to. She wanted what her mother and father had had, before her father had died.

She sighed and retrieved the holocube Anakin had caught her looking at. It held all the images of her father and uncle she had been able to find over the years. There were even a few of Jacen locked within, such as the one she studied the most, the single holo she had of Kyp Durron.

Jaina let out a shuddering breath as she stopped cycling through the holos, the happy smiling faces looking up at her. Funny how he could look so similar, and be so very different. It was wrong that those eyes, which in her memory and her imagination were so full of peace and happiness, were full of darker things when she saw them now.

He'd betrayed more than her family, she thought, as she looked into the faces of three people who no longer existed. He'd betrayed this young man, as well, killing him as effectively as Darth Vader had destroyed Anakin Skywalker.

She turned off the holocube and glanced at the projection panel on her wall, the one that gave the illusion that she could see outside, even though she was deep within the temple. She hadn't bothered with the overhead lights in her room, and the only light came from the pretend window.

_He's not Kyp Durron anymore._

"I know," she whispered into the falling darkness. "Force help me, I know he isn't."


	8. Chapter 8

**\--Chapter Eight--**  
  
On the third day, truce was agreed upon.

Leia came to Jaina after the negotiations were declared finished and told her that the Council wanted her to go along with Rache and be their eyes and ears. Being Jaina's mother, Leia added exhortations to be very careful, which Jaina naturally said that she would be.

She didn't say a word one way or the other about her new assignment. She'd known that Rache would get her to come with him when he left. It was just the way things were. She'd even already packed a travel case already and had it waiting at the foot of her bed.

Reiniger came for her in the middle of the afternoon. She was still talking to her mother when the Sith entered without knocking.

"Lord Rache requests your presence now, Knight Solo," the Sith said.

"Tell him I'll be there when I'm ready," Jaina snapped.

Reiniger pushed back his hood and glared at her. "Now, _Jaina_."

Beside Jaina, Leia stiffened in shock. Her hand reached out and clutched Jaina's arm, her grip tight and painful. Jaina managed not to react and just pointed towards the door.

Reiniger sneered at her and left, not even bothering to bow. Jaina didn't breathe easily until the door had closed behind him.

"Mom?" She dropped to her knees beside her mother's hover chair. "Mom, what is it?"

"That . . . That man," Leia whispered. "He looked very much like your father, only . . . much younger. I- I think . . . Oh, Force, don't let it be."

"Don't let it be what?" Even as Jaina asked, she dreaded the answer. The fear and anguish on her mother's face spoke almost better than anything Leia could possibly say.

Leia's face looked pale and drawn. She licked suddenly parched lips and breathed, "I think that was Jacen."

For several long moments, Jaina felt as if time had stopped.

Jacen.

Her brother.

Her twin.  
  


\----------

Rache was waiting for her on the summit of the temple, his hands folded at the small of his back as he looked out over the verdant jungle. Jaina walked right up to him and grabbed his sleeve, yanking on it to turn him around.

"Can I assist you, Jaina?" he asked, looking amused in the face of her anger.

"You stole my brother!" she said, the volume of her voice slightly lower than shouting, but not by a lot. "You took him and raised him and now he's your _apprentice_!"

The dark green depths of his eyes seemed to go on forever. No expression on his chiseled face whatsoever, and that seemed scarier than anything she'd seen from him yet.

"I wasn't sure you were ever going to figure it out," he said in reply. "Who was it? Your mother?"

"Who else? What did you expect, to bring her son here? Of course she would know him!"

He shrugged, a graceful lift of one shoulder. "I didn't expect anything. I don't go anywhere important without my apprentice at my side. I told him to keep his hood up, but he apparently disobeyed me. He'll be punished for that."

Jaina's hands shook at her sides. She took a step back from him. "Why? Why did you take him?"

Rache just looked at her, movement and life finally coming into his face. He looked disgusted. "I didn't do anything except come back to retrieve the boy on Kun's orders. Kun took him, and through me, Kun raised him. I think he was planning to use his body to restore himself to life. The boy is, after all, very powerful as I've no doubt you and Anakin noticed. My assumption is that Exar Kun was going to possess the boy's body once he reached adulthood."

The Sith let his hands drop to his sides and looked out towards the ruin of the temple Exar Kun had built for himself, the molten obsidian slag on a lonely island in the middle of a dark lake. Jaina had seen it herself, and she'd even been there yesterday, trying to sort out what was going on in her head.

"I couldn't let Kun do that, even if he was my master. So I carefully prepared, and I destroyed him. I couldn't destroy the boy, of course, so I have worked to train him as my apprentice, rather than my master. Naturally, one day he will kill me and take my place, as it always is. Or at least he will try."

He reached for Jaina, and she dodged his hand. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you, Jaina. Surely you know that I do not keep mistresses. I want you for my . . . mate, I suppose. _My_ consort."

"I'll never turn."

Another shrug. "We shall see."

Rache moved around her, careful not to touch her. He tossed back over his shoulder, as he stepped to the edge of the rooftop platform, "I think it is time we should be going."

He stepped off the edge.

Jaina ran to the edge, not believing her eyes, believing them less when she saw him land safely on the ground, his knees bent to lessen the impact. Of course, he'd most likely used the Force to cushion his landing.

"Nice trick, Rache. But trickery won't save you. They didn't call me Yun-Harla during the war for nothing."  
  


\----------

She went back to her quarters to retrieve her luggage. The whole way, she debated whether or not to tell Anakin who Reiniger really was. Part of her was afraid of what Anakin would try to do, and the other part of her was afraid of what he'd ask her to do.

There was no way she could redeem _both_ of the Sith. She wasn't even sure she wanted to try with Rache.

But Reiniger was her twin, the other half she'd shared everything of the first two and a half years of her life with, including their trip into the underworld of Coruscant as toddlers.

 _Jacen_ , she thought, and sat down on her bed. _I'm going to save you, Jacen. It's not your fault you've turned into this._ He _did this to you, and I swear, I'm going to get you back._  
  


\----------

Rache was in the pilot's seat of the remarkable ship when Jaina boarded it. She would not be taking her X-wing. She was going to play his game, pretend to do as he wished, perhaps even get one of the sleek fighters he had offered her. He would not know what hit him.

"This is a beautiful ship," Jaina said. She looked around the cockpit. There was no co-pilot, and the guards were elsewhere on the ship.

"Thank you. She's the _Shadow Chaser_ ," he said, not looking up from his pre-flight controls. "The Shadow Academy had her, and I appropriated her when I . . . assumed control of them. That wasn't long after you were a . . . guest of the very, very stupid Brakiss."

"What is the hull made of? I've never seen anything like it."

Rache gestured for her to sit down. "It's quantum armor, phase-shifted. I fed the information I got from Qwi Xux's head to another scientist and he made this for the Shadow Academy. Naturally, I killed him and then the rest of the academy's 'teachers'."

She sank into the co-pilot's seat and tried not to audibly gulp. "Why did you do that?"

"I didn't have quite the resources then as I do now. It was Empress Jade who set up the Shadow Academy, and _she_ thought the _Shadow Chaser_ was all her idea."

Rache snorted in derision and glanced at her. "Are you ready, Jaina?"

No, she most certainly was not. But she nodded anyway and braced herself as he took the ship up.

Get close to him, learn his secrets. Use him to bring down Mara Jade, and then kill him. Somehow, during that, redeem Jacen.

A tall order for a single Jedi Knight. But she was a Solo and a Skywalker. Surely she could do it.

She had to, because the very galaxy was at stake.  
  


\----------

The ship was small, and there were only two real cabins. Rache's guards were staying in the cargo hold, and Reiniger--Jacen--had the other cabin. Jaina had no choice, unless she wanted to sleep on the floor of the cockpit, other than to stay with Rache. She'd _thought_ they were going back to the _Eradicator_ , but Rache had informed her that they would, eventually, but there was something he needed to do first.

Fortunately, he had, as usual, seen to creature comforts and had a large bed in the cabin. Unfortunately, she was going to have to sleep in it with him.

She stared in dismay and let her case fall to the floor at her feet with a thump. "Aw, stang."

"Worried, Jaina?" Rache's voice purred in her ear.

Jaina barely managed not to shriek. She shied away from him, but the cabin was pretty small and with the bed in here, there was precious little room. That was probably the intent, come to think of it.

"No," she lied. "Not worried. Just hoping you'll remember our deal and keep your hands to yourself."

He smirked. "I don't go back on my word, Jaina. I said that you could choose the time. I didn't say, however, that I wouldn't try to . . . persuade you as to when it would be."

"Well, it's not today," she snapped. "So you just . . . stay on your side and I'll stay on mine!"

Rache feigned an expression of disgruntled resignation and sighed. "Fine. Have it your way, little Jedi. Besides, you've obviously got your scales up over your brother. I don't want you unwilling."

She glared at him, eyes spitting brown fire. "Keep that in mind, Rache, and I might not have to kill you before you do your job."

He took two steps forward and shoved her against the wall. "I'll do my . . . _job_ . . . Jaina. Just remember that if you break our bargain, I'll have no choice but to bring down your Republic. And that will include the Jedi. So eventually, you're either going to have to give in, or everyone you know is going to die."

Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them away, refusing to let him see weakness. "I hate you," she whispered vehemently.

"I know," he said, in a soothing voice, his manner suddenly seeming to soften. He brought his lips close to her ear as he stroked her hair. His breath was hot on her skin. "But, Jaina . . ."

Jaina closed her eyes, tried to fight the feeling that rose within her. No, she thought. He's playing with your mind, don't listen!

"You don't have to love me to want me."

And then he was gone, and she sucked in lungfuls of air as she sank to the floor, sliding down the wall to collapse in a confused heap.

_Force help me._


	9. Chapter 9

**\--Chapter Nine--**  
  
Jaina was extremely glad that she had brought sleepwear that covered her essentially from head to toe. Kyp, it turned out, usually slept in considerably less. Truth be told, so did she, but she wasn't about to use her normal habits around him.

When he came out of the refresher conveniently attached to his cabin, he stopped by the side of the bed and stared, one hand frozen in scratching his head so that the black curls stood up in several directions.

"What is that?" he asked, gesturing to the lump in the middle of the bed.

"A divider." Jaina looked smug. "So that you stay on your side."

Genuine amusement transformed his face, and Jaina had to look away. She'd rolled up the heavy comforter and placed it in the centre of the bed, effectively dividing the mattress in half. She also had the half closest to the wall, which might not end up being a good thing, but there it was.

She eyed him under lowered lashes. Black shimmersilk shorts hung low on his hips, the rest of his torso and legs bare. He wasn't bulked up, but every corded muscle spoke of strength.

 _Shavit_ , she thought. Aloud, she said, "Could you put a shirt on?"

He looked down. "You take exception to my attire?"

Jaina just looked at him.

Kyp smirked. She found she couldn't call him Rache, not in the privacy of this chamber. He seemed different here, and that was probably going to eventually be her undoing. But not tonight.

Without a word, he slid into bed, staying well clear of the divider. "Good night, little Jedi."

Jaina huddled under the covers, her back against the wall, and waited until she heard his breathing even out before she let her eyes drift shut.

 

\----------

"Where are we going?"

Jaina leaned back in the co-pilot's seat and stared at Rache, who was studying the readout of the navicomputer.

"Coruscant," he said.

"Why are we going to Coruscant?" she demanded. "I thought the goal was to stay out of Imperial territory."

Green eyes fixed on her. "Because, little Jedi, we don't want to raise Jade's suspicions any more than we can avoid. It's too soon to declare war on her. She's got something that she's doing and I want her to let me in on it. I can't let her know that I've sided with the Republic. She has to continue to believe that there is a chance I'll side with her."

"And how, exactly, do you plan to explain me?" Jaina crossed her arms under her breasts and levelled a cool look at him.

He ignored her for a moment, prepping the ship for the drop out of hyperspace. Just as the drop happened, he switched from autopilot and steered the ship towards the planet Jaina had once upon a time called home.

She hadn't been here since she was eighteen, since the Battle of Coruscant and the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war. The Empire had taken it in the confusion and Republic citizens were not allowed within its atmosphere. This was a Republic law, not an Imperial one. The Empire wanted to convert as many people as it could, and would take what it could get.

They didn't, as she'd expected, get into one of the many lines of ships waiting for clearance through the security field around the planet. Instead, they went in a different direction, straight towards Imperial City. Rache keyed in a code and a space in the field opened, closing almost as soon as the tail of the _Shadow Chaser_ was through.

"Have your own private entrance, do you?" she sneered.

"I've been a . . . special guest of the Empress on several occasions," he replied.

"How do I know you're really siding with the Republic?"

Rache didn't look over at her as he flew. "You know the answer to that as well as I do, Jaina. It's the whole reason I took the path I took. I'm not out for galactic domination. I'm out for the complete and total destruction of the Empire, from its head to its very roots."

Jaina looked out over the glittering city-planet. "And how is it that Jade doesn't know this?"

"She knows only what I tell her," he answered. "And she's let power corrupt her. It's gone to her head and she can only imagine that someone like me would desire more power, because she was raised by Palpatine. It's all she knows of Sith."

"All Sith want power," Jaina whispered.

"Not me, little Jedi. I'm fine with my slice of it."

She remained silent for the rest of the flight. He landed on a private pad attached to a penthouse on the edges of Imperial City and shut the ship down.

"Yours?" she asked, gesturing through the viewport to the lavish apartment.

"Of course."

They followed the guards and Reiniger off the ship.

"All clear, my lord," one of the guards said.

Jaina started. It was the first time she'd heard either of the two humans speak.

Rache tossed a keycard to Reiniger. "Make yourself at home. Jaina and I have a few errands to run."

"Yes, my lord." Reiniger bowed his head and then headed towards the door.

Rache went in a different direction, towards a covered alcove on the landing platform. Within the alcove were several speeders, some open-air, some enclosed. He chose an enclosed one, a sleek black machine that Jaina itched to tinker with.

"You like it, I see?"

Wordlessly, she nodded.

He handed her the keystick. "It's yours."

Jaina blinked at him. "You're kidding."

He shook his head. "Not kidding. Go ahead, take the helm. I'll let you fly this time."

The opportunity to fly the high-tech speeder warred with the part of her that was struggling to remind her who he was, and why she shouldn't accept such a thing from him.

In the end, she let the pilot in her win and she slid into the pilot's seat. Rache wordlessly got into the passenger seat and buckled in.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as the speeder lifted off the platform.

"Shopping. There is a ball tonight at the Imperial Palace, and you're in need of clothing befitting one of my . . . entourage."

"You mean harem?"

"No, I mean entourage. I don't have a harem. I'm somewhat particular about my company."

He was silent for the rest of the trip except to give her directions. She set the speeder down on a small platform outside a small establishment. Jaina reluctantly got out and locked it, then hurried to follow him into the shop.

Inside, she blinked in the dim light, trying to get her eyes to adjust. The low-level lighting and the darkly decorated interior seemed to match perfectly Rache's overall scheme of things, which didn't surprise Jaina. What _did_ surprise her were the many leather accoutrements on display.

"Do you have a fetish or something?" she asked.

Rache laughed, a sound she didn't hear often. "No, but many of Maxima's clients do."

A very tall, thin being with silver skin came out from behind a black curtain. She had four long, double-jointed arms and large, unblinking eyes. Her figure was draped in, expectedly, black. Her hair was a very dark red, and Jaina didn't know if it was real or artificial, as she'd never seen a being like this in her life.

"Ah, my lord, you have returned," she said to Rache, in a voice like a flute.

Rache bowed to her. "Maxima, I have a young lady here I would like you to dress. If she expresses an interest in something, it is hers."

Two of Maxima's hands pressed to her chest. "Yes, my lord."

Jaina let out a yelp as Maxima grabbed her and dragged her behind the curtain. The woman found herself in a large, mirrored room with two doors. One was solid black, the other took up only part of the doorway as most dressing room doors did. It was much brighter in here, and Jaina felt momentarily blinded by the rapidly changing lighting levels.

Maxima was at a rack of mostly black clothing items and was rapidly flicking through them. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed. "This is perfect for you!"

It was black, with glittery insets on the sides running from the underarm all the way to the floor. Upon closer inspection, the sides turned out to be sheer. True, the insets were less than the width of three fingers, but it didn't make it any less sheer.

"No way," Jaina said, holding up her hands. "I'm _not_ wearing that."

"Try it on, Jaina," Rache said behind her. "You won't wear it to the ball, but it might come in handy later."

She turned and glared at him. "Suck Hutt slime," she hissed, and stomped into the dressing room with the dress.

Maxima turned to Rache. "Tempermental, yes?"

"A bit." Rache went to the rack of dresses and started looking through. "I want to see her in this one, and this, and certainly this."

He stopped on one in particular, a deep red dress that consisted of a red longline corset and a very full, flounced red skirt with a sheer black layer over it. He loved Jaina in red, the way the colour made her skin so pale, and her hair and eyes so dark in contrast.

"And this," he said softly. "This she will wear to the ball."

"Yes, my lord." Maxima nodded and took the dresses to Jaina.  
  


\----------

Jaina's memory of the Imperial Palace was nothing like what Empress Mara Jade had transformed it into. There were too many colours and sights for her to focus on just one thing. It was beyond description. She remembered stately marble, and while that was still there, everything seemed to have been gilded.

She felt very out of place, even in the dress Rache had picked out for her. She wore a cloak over it, one of a very plush velvet that was incredibly soft to the touch. At least the man hadn't made her wear insensible shoes. She wore soft, sturdy flats of a deep red brocade that matched the dress.

Rache himself was dressed impeccably, in a black shirt with a standing collar, black pants, black boots that went over the knee, and a black cape that shimmered with thousands of silver threads woven through it. He wore it rakishly, pulled almost sideways, secured with a silver chain studded with deep rubies that glittered like drops of blood against the solid black of his clothing. He'd tailed his hair back against the nape of his neck.

Jaina had left her own hair down, so that she would feel less exposed when the cloak came off. The corset was trimmed in black, so she wore black gloves that reached halfway up her upper arm, and a black choker set with an immense red stone.

"We match," she said nervously.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, just making an observation." Jaina swallowed. Her mother had raised her in this world until Leia had finally decided to take over leadership of the Jedi in Luke's absence and they'd left Coruscant. It had been so long, she could barely remember going to a party anything like this.

They reached the top of a staircase that led down into an immense ballroom. Beings in attire of every colour and description milled about below them. On a raised dais opposite the staircase was a throne, and in it sat a woman in a dark, strapless dress, her red-gold hair loose around her shoulders. Jaina was too far away to see clearly, but she thought the dress was black.

A droid took Jaina's cloak and she tried not to shiver. It was warm in the ballroom, but the air was oppressive and there was such darkness that it made her feel cold.

A Bothan at the head of the stairs looked at them as they approached. "Names?"

"Lord Rache, and companion."

Silence fell across the ballroom as the Bothan repeated Rache's words into a commlink and broadcast it across the room. On her throne, the empress's head lifted and Jaina felt the weight of her gaze fix on them as Rache guided her down the stairs.

"Nervous, little Jedi? Don't be. You're safe with me," Rache whispered.

"That's ironic, coming from you." Jaina straightened her spine.

She might have imagined his chuckle. "I must introduce you to the Empress. Then we'll mingle with the guests and see what we can pick up."

"Won't she know what we're doing?" Jaina whispered.

"She's Force sensitive, it's true, but she's nowhere near as powerful as I am. Or you, I would think." Rache tucked her arm through his as they reached the foot of the steps to Jade's throne.

It was funny that Jaina feared the man at her side less than than the woman who descended those steps to peer at her. Jade's dress was actually green, and it glittered with emerauds sewn across the bodice. The woman was, by reports, nearing sixty, but she didn't look it. Her eyes were vivid green, brighter than Rache's, about the same colour as Jaina's friend Zekk's.

 _Too many green eyes_ , Jaina mused to herself.

"Lord Rache, you grace us with your presence. I wasn't sure if you were going to deign to show," Jade said.

"Would I miss one of Your Eminence's balls?" Rache took her offered hand in his gloved one and kissed it.

"You are remiss, Rache." Jade gestured to Jaina. "Who is this?"

Rache turned to Jaina, and there was a warning in his green eyes. His voice whispered in her mind. _Be silent. Tell her only what I tell you to._

Jaina wasn't about to argue.

"This is Jaina Solo. I'm sure you're familiar with the family," he said smoothly. "I've managed to . . . seduce her away from the Republic and she's now serving as my new tactical officer."

Jade studied her. "An interesting move, Rache. One would think that you had plans to make war."

Rache laughed. "Hardly. You know I make my own tactical decisions. This is more of a, how should I put it, figurative title."

The empress smirked at Jaina. "So, then, I take it you have decided to take on a more permanent mistress. You will, of course, still attend to me personally if I require it of you?"

His grip on her hand tightened briefly, and Jaina understood in a flash what was being said. He'd just told Jade that she, Jaina, was his new mistress, and that didn't please the empress very much, since she was used to-

She wasn't as good at transmitting words, just ideas, but her disgust apparently got through because he surreptitiously stepped on her toes to keep her silent.

"Of course, Your Eminence," he said aloud. "Now, if I may be excused, I wish to dance with my escort. I will, naturally, keep a slot open for you if you wish."

"Naturally," Jade said. "You are dismissed."

Rache very quickly yanked Jaina into the crowd. His eyes flashed as he whirled her into his arms.

"You _slept_ with that witch?" Jaina demanded in a low tone, low enough that it reached only his ears.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, little Jedi," he responded. "Why, does that bother you?"

Actually, it did bother her. Contrary to what she'd been telling herself, she was starting to get possessive, and that was a Very Bad Thing.

"No," she denied hotly. "I just would think think that you'd have better taste."

He laughed. "Don't say that too loudly, Jaina. Jade has ears everywhere."

Lovely. Jaina sighed.

Well, at least Rache could dance.


	10. Chapter 10

**\--Chapter Ten--**  
  
After a few dances, Rache apparently decided it was safe to slip out of the Empress's attention. Jaina silently followed him across the ballroom, wine glass in hand, to where an elderly gentleman in the white uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral stood talking to another man. This one had an eye patch.

The grand admiral turned to Rache. "Ah, Lord Rache. How nice to see you. You know Soontir Fel, of course?"

Rache nodded. Jaina bit the inside of her cheek at the expression on Fel's face. So this was the father of the man Rache had nearly killed just days before. She shivered at the memory.

"Admiral Pellaeon. Baron Fel. May I present Jaina Solo, my tactical officer. Jaina, this Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, and Baron-Administrator Soontir Fel."

Fel's single brown eye narrowed. "Solo, eh? You're Han Solo's daughter, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"I went to the academy with Solo." Fel's eye cut to Rache. "At Carida, of course."

Pellaeon raised a hand and placed it on Fel's shoulder. The other man brushed it aside and, turning on one polished shoe, stalked off. They watched him go, and then Pellaeon turned back to Rache.

"Quite a number you did on his son, Rache."

Rache took a sip of his drink and stared after the baron. "His son was out of line, Admiral."

"Rumour has it, Rache, that you've sided with the Republic?" Pellaeon's blue eyes were questioning.

"Please." Rache scoffed. "I may have one of their trinkets, but who am I to turn down something so pretty?"

He looked at Jaina over the rim of his glass and she was tempted to up-end the thing over his expensive black-on-black brocade shirt.

"Fel was just telling me that his son said he was there when you-" Pellaeon stopped when the Sith's green eyes shifted from Jaina to him.

"Fel's son was suffering from electrical shock, Admiral Pellaeon. I would not trust what delirious ramblings he'd have to share. All Miss Solo and I discussed were the terms of her . . . service to me."

Jaina managed not to flush under Pellaeon's scrutiny and entertained herself with visions of strangling Rache with his cape. It was a thought that brought a smile to her face.

"Does Jade know that you've got a paramour?" Pellaeon asked quietly.

Rache shrugged. "She knows I have a bedwarmer, but I'd prefer her to think that's all it is."

The admiral nodded. "Of course."

Jaina moved on in her fantasy to smothering him with his pillow.

"I wouldn't want her to try to ruin my fun. She seems to view me as some sort of object, and if there's anything I hate, it's being someone's possession."

Meat grinder. Feet first.

Pellaeon noted the look on Jaina's face and decided to change the subject. He coughed discreetly and said, "Jade's efforts with Corellia seem to be going quite well. Thanks to the Dictat's efforts, getting Centerpoint Station online again looks to be progressing."

Jaina did her best to appear vapid and hung on Rache's arm, gazing up at him adoringly while she used the voluminous skirt of her gown to hide that she was smashing his foot for all she was worth. The only outward sign he gave was the white knuckles on the stem of his glass.

"You're the commander of the Imperial fleet, you have any idea where she's planning to strike first?" Rache asked, taking a sip of wine.

The admiral shrugged. "My guess would be Mon Calamari, but I can't say for certain. Actually, she might want to deal with the Jedi first, get them out of the way."

Jaina took her weight off Rache's foot and pulled on his arm. "Enough boring talk, I want to dance!"

Rache looked at her indulgently and handed his glass to a passing server droid. "All right, dearest. If you'll excuse us, Gilad."

"Certainly."

Once they were out of earshot of the admiral, he hissed, "Did you _have_ to maim me, Solo?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You sound ruffled, _dearest_. I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Maybe that's what you get for being a _hypocrite_!"

"Can we discuss this, say, back at the apartment? Good." Without waiting for her to answer, he dragged her out of the ballroom.  
  


\----------

Jaina managed to keep her temper in check just enough to get them away from the Imperial Palace in one piece. Rache dragged her into his quarters and locked the door. He turned around to face her, and his head snapped back from a stinging blow courtesy of Jaina's open palm.

"You stinking pile of bantha poodoo! How _dare_ you treat me like that in front of all of those people? I am _not_ an object, or a toy, or a- a _bedwarmer_!"

He caught her wrist, holding her arm between them. "You are whatever I say you are, little Jedi. You'll just have to get used to that. But perhaps it didn't occur to you that I have an image to protect? Unless you _want_ Jade to realise that I've sided with you and you _want_ her to aim Centerpoint Station at Yavin and blow it to pieces."

"You know I don't! And stop calling me 'little'!"

Rache leaned in close, his face just a breath away from hers. His eyes were bright yellow and frightening. She could not, would not think of him as Kyp now! "And if I say 'no'? What will you do, kick me?"

Jaina very quickly discovered the knee thing didn't work in the skirt of her ball gown. She let out a groan of frustration as Rache wheeled her around and half-led, half-dragged her over to the bed and tossed her down on it. Once there, Jaina found that due to the corset, she couldn't sit up.

"I _hate_ you," she said with feeling, as she struggled against the top three or so layers of her huge skirt, which had flown up in her face.

Rache smoothed her skirt and perched beside her so that she was looking up at him. "Say that often enough, little Jedi, and I'm going to start thinking you don't mean it."

"You're despicable!"

"Yes, I know."

"And really evil!"

"That, too."

"And a really shoddy dresser!"

There was a moment of silence, and then, "Now, I _know_ you don't mean that one."

She called him something unflattering in archaic Alderaanian.

With a roll of his eyes, Rache helped her sit up.

"And I still don't see how you could have-" Jaina shuddered. "How could you sleep with that woman?"

He lifted a raven brow. With a speculative look, he said, "Why, little Jedi, are you _jealous_?"

"No," Jaina replied sullenly.

"I think you _are_ ," he purred, sliding closer to her.

"You move any closer and I'll stuff your cape down your throat."

Rache looked at his cape. "Your father gave this to me."

She fell silent, suddenly looking pale and withdrawn. Rache had a confused moment where he actually felt sorry he'd said something to hurt her. That wasn't a Good Thing.

He stood up and walked over to the wet bar, where he poured her a glass of Corellian brandy. Silently, he held it out to her and waited until she'd both accepted it and drained it. He automatically got her another.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

He shook his head. "Like I told you, I want you willing. Inebriated does not fall under 'willing' in my definition."

"Yay," she murmured.

"Does it really bother you?"

Jaina shrugged. "Maybe a little."

He sighed and sat next to her. "You confuse me, little Jedi. You say that you won't have anything to do with me, and yet you're jealous that I've been a lover to the Empress."

"Please, it's disgusting."

"Well, it wasn't my choosing. It started when I was still under Kun's control and _he_ was trying for power. Once I got rid of him, I found I had no idea how to gracefully back out of it. Fortunately, she has several attendants and I've only had to, uh, entertain her on rare occasions."

She looked at him incredulously. "You don't _like_ being the Empress's favourite?"

"Stang, no!" he exclaimed. "Having to play at being her pet makes my skin crawl. It's one of the many reasons I sided with the Republic against her."

"You're confusing me," Jaina whispered.

His eyes, long since faded back to green, looked down at her. "How am I confusing you, little Jedi?"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

He sighed and took the drink from her hand. "You've obviously had enough of this."

"Hey!" she protested, but didn't make any attempt to stop him. Sighing heavily, Jaina flopped back on the bed. "You're confusing me because you're a complete creep, and yet you're being nice to me."

Rache slowly set the glass down on the bar and looked at her. Her eyes, the same colour as the brandy in his hand, were closed. Her chestnut hair spilled around her in a silken tumble. Jaina looked beautiful, and yet so innocent somehow.

A feeling somewhat like remorse crawled up from the depths of his dark soul and his hand closed convulsively on the glass. It shattered, slicing him, but he barely noticed the sting.

He made no reply to her, sensing that she'd fallen asleep where she was. To himself, as he wrapped a towel around his once again wounded hand, he whispered, "And you confuse me, little Jedi. Oh, how you confuse me."  
  


\----------

Jaina woke sometime later, disoriented for one heart-stopping moment when she realised that she had, at some point after passing out, been undressed. But she was alone in Rache's bed, and there was no sign she'd ever had company in it. It was dark in the bedchamber, the only light that of the city outside the windows.

Slightly panicked, she reached out with the Force and nearly collapsed with relief when she found that there was a young woman in the next room, apparently some sort of handmaid that Rache had secured for her. The girl was just drifting into sleep, dreaming of all the things she could finally have now that the handsome man with the sad green eyes was paying her so well to care for his lady.

Jaina wrapped her arms around the soft, satiny pillow and buried her face in it. Nothing was going to plan, and it left her adrift, wondering just who, exactly, this man was who by all outward appearances was a Sith, and yet showed a side that no Sith would--or should--have. Rache was not living up to her expectations. He had at first, but now, he had her so she didn't know which way was up.

As she replaced the pillow, Jaina realised that he--definitely Rache, not the girl--had placed her weapon within reach. She wrapped her fingers around the cool, worn metal, and suddenly felt fear.

What was it that _Rache_ was frightened of, that he would willingly arm her when he'd had the chance to disarm?

Pellaeon's voice echoed in her mind suddenly. _"Does Jade know that you've got a paramour?"_

And Rache's response, holding depth she hadn't realised in her ire. _"She knows I have a bedwarmer, but I'd prefer her to think that's all it is."_

It was a long time before Jaina fell asleep again, finding she was watching for shadows on the walls, and wondering when the attack would come.


	11. Chapter 11

**\--Chapter Eleven--**  
  
The second time Jaina woke, it was still dark, but not because it was night. Sometime before dawn, someone had closed the blinds against the sunlight. She sat up and looked at the bedside chrono. It was well after 0900. She was usually up before this, since the day at the academy began so much earlier.

Wrapped in the top sheet, Jaina sat on the edge of the bed for a while, feeling groggy and hung over. Rache had been right, she'd definitely had enough last night, probably too much. She hadn't been paying attention at the ball to the amount of liquor she'd consumed.

The door opened and a face appeared, belonging to a young woman about Jaina's own age, with long dark hair and brown eyes. She appeared startled. "Oh! Milady, you're awake."

Milady? Jaina blinked at the woman as she bustled in.

"Lord Rache said not to disturb you, so I was just checking to see if you were awake yet. I didn't order you anything for breakfast, but I can do that now."

Jaina rubbed her face with her hand. This was somewhat surreal. "Where is . . . Lord Rache?"

"He left some time ago. That is to say, he hired me from the staff late last night, and had me tend to you while he went out, and he came back early this morning, and then he left again. I don't know where he is at present, but the young- younger man . . ." The girl trailed off, not sure how to refer to Reiniger. Her chatter apparently covered her fear of Reiniger; odd that she didn't have any of Rache, who Jaina viewed as the more frightening of the two. Of course, Reiniger didn't bother to put a veneer on what he was, and Rache did.

"It's all right, uh . . ."

"Ailana, milady." The young woman bobbed her head. "Ailana Goman."

"Just ignore the . . . younger man, Ailana. What exactly did Ky- er, Rache say that your job was?"

Ailana nodded, back on familiar territory. "I'm to act as your personal servant, milady. If you need anything, I'm to get it for you, and I'm to help you-"

Jaina held up a hand and the servant stopped. "Okay, first of all, please, call me Jaina, not 'milady'. I'm not much for titles, and . . . I don't think I have one, anyway. Secondly, I really don't need a servant."

Ailana looked crestfallen, until Jaina continued.

"I do, however, need someone to help me in and out of these blasted costumes Rache insists I wear. I'm assuming it was you who, uh, helped me last night?" The other woman nodded, and Jaina was relieved that it wasn't Rache. She'd already figured as much, but still. "And I need a friend. I'm kind of . . . alone out here. Are you supposed to come with when we leave Coruscant?"

Another nod.

"Perfect. Now, you won't be of use to me if you're terrified of the men, so-"

"Oh, I'm not scared of Lord Rache, mil- Jaina. He's nice."

Jaina stared at her, mouth agape. It took her a moment to collect herself before she was able to say, "He's a Sith Lord, Ailana. You know what one of those is?"

The colour drained out of Ailana's face. "Yes," she whispered.

Jaina felt badly for scaring her, but there really hadn't been a way to avoid it. She stood up, making sure she was adequately covered. "We need to make sure you have a blaster, a personal one you can hide in a pocket or something. Reiniger, the younger man, should leave you alone, but if he doesn't, tell me. Rache _will_ leave you alone, it's just me he's interested in, and I don't think he's given to harming women. Steer clear of Reiniger and you should be fine."

Ailana nodded, slower this time. The bright aura around her was dimmer now, and she looked more solemn. "Are . . . you a Sith, too?"

Jaina snorted. "No, Ailana, I'm a Jedi Knight. Now . . . do you know what the mynock who hired you's done with my clothes?"  
  


\----------

The morning improved considerably after Jaina had a hot sonic shower and was dressed. She'd left her Jedi robes on the _Shadow Chaser_ , since wearing them in Imp territory was a bad idea, possibly even worse than, say, starting to not hate Rache. Instead, she'd dressed in something Rache had bought her.

She had to admit that she looked good and Rache knew what he was doing, even if his tastes ran to the somewhat skanky. This was an ordinary outfit--of, what else, black--of leggings, boots, and a hip-length shirt that hugged her upper body. The sleeves were long and the neck was high. Jaina wore a belt with her father's blaster hanging at her hip. She was debating the lightsaber when Rache came in.

"Are your things packed?" he asked, not bothering with a greeting.

"Yes, Ailana's seen to it." Jaina studied his face, but his emotionless mask was back. "Are we leaving?"

"As soon as you have your things on the ship, yes." He left.

Jaina glanced at Ailana, who was just emerging from the dressing room with a packed case. "His Worship wants us to hurry."

Ailana nodded.

Together they managed to get all the cases out to the cargo hold. Reiniger was in the main living area of the suite, but of course didn't offer to lift a finger to assist.

Jaina ran into him as she headed back through the sliding transparisteel door. It was disconcerting, looking up into his yellow eyes, knowing that she had shared the womb with this man.

He looked at her mockingly, as if he knew that she had been avoiding him, like he knew that she was aware of who he was. Which meant that he knew he was.

"Jacen," she said, without thought.

Reiniger's upper lip curled. "Once, perhaps. Don't get any ideas about family loyalty, Solo, because there isn't any."

He shoved past her, and Jaina blinked away tears.

"Fine," she whispered. "Be that way. I'll find a way to save you anyway."  
  


\----------

If things on the _Shadow Chaser_ had been confusing before, Ailana's presence only served to make them worse. Rache hadn't completely thought through where she would sleep before they reached the _Eradicator_ , Jaina could tell from his expression when they were getting settled.

She was amused at his frustration, realising that the only place that was safe for Ailana was in with Jaina, which displaced him. Finally, he made Reiniger sleep in the hold and he took the other cabin.

"Is it wise, aggravating him?" Ailana asked as she crawled into the large bed, which still had its divider.

"He wants me to sleep with him. If he kills me, he doesn't get that, and he's anything but stupid. Rache has matured past the insane rages that made him blow up Carida." Jaina closed her eyes.

"Jaina?"

"Yes?"

"Where exactly are we going?"

"We're going to Rache's ship. The _Eradicator_. After that . . . I don't know."

Ailana's voice was muffled. "I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have taken this job."

 _Me, too_ , Jaina thought.  
  


\----------

"If you're going to spend all night here in the cockpit, Master, can I have the cabin back?"

Rache looked up. His apprentice stood just behind him, one eyebrow raised. The Sith lord sighed and waved a hand lazily. "Go ahead."

His apprentice was quiet for a moment. Rache could feel the weight of his gaze. He ignored him for a space, stretching out to rest his feet on the control console.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Master, why did you hire the girl? I wouldn't think that Jaina is that high-maintainence."

"She's not," Rache said. "She's a decoy."

Another moment of silence, this one mildly surprised.

"You think there's a threat, then?"

"I do." Rache looked up at his apprentice. "You don't?"

Reiniger shrugged. For a moment, his eyes bled back to the same brown as Jaina's eyes, a rare occurrence. "I don't see why there would be a threat to her. And from what quarter?"

"Empress Mara Jade," his master said. "She's a jealous, possessive woman. I'm not going to let her dictate to me, but I'm sure that she won't be happy when she realises that I've left Coruscant without her express permission."

Reiniger snorted. "I can't believe that she's the former Emperor's Hand. How did she even get to be Empress? She doesn't strike me as particularly threatening."

"She's sneaky and vicious, my apprentice. And she's a woman with ambitions. That in itself makes her threatening." Rache straightened, dropping his feet off the console. "Add that she has the backing of the Imperial fleet, which is unfortunately larger than I can take on alone . . ."

"Which is why you need the Republic, to get her off your back."

"Exactly."

Rache checked the navicomputer. "We should be meeting up with the _Eradicator_ in two hours. See if you can sleep."

"Yes, master." Reiniger excused himself.

The Sith Lord closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat. He was not about to let Jade in on his plans. Taking Jaina to meet Jade perhaps had not been the best move, but he had the suspicion that this was a case of stanged if he did, stanged if he didn't. Better to concentrate his efforts on seducing Jaina, and let the girl he'd hired do her job.

He just needed to hold Jade off a little longer, until he could bring her down. Then he could start on other plans, like turning Jaina against the Jedi.

He stared into the blue swirl of hyperspace, and he smiled.


	12. Chapter 12

**\--Chapter Twelve--**  
  
The rendezvous with the _Eradicator_ happened in a no-name sector of space just on the Republic side of the Imperial/Republic border. Jaina asked Rache, as they landed in his private docking bay, why they had taken the _Shadow Chaser_ to Coruscant, instead of the _Eradicator_ , which would have been a much more impressive display.

"Because," he said, pausing as he stepped off the _Chaser_ 's ramp, "I don't want my ship anywhere near Jade. She might take it from me."

She couldn't argue with that. "I thought she gave it to you?"

"Yes, but that wouldn't stop her from reclaiming it, or my fleet."

"Is that why you sided with the Republic?"

"Among other things," he murmured. He gestured to the waiting servants and they quickly moved to unload the ship.

Rache stopped Jaina before she could leave to go to her quarters. "Dinner in my quarters tonight."

"All right," she said. "But I'm not wearing a stupid dress."  
  


\----------

There was a note on Jaina's pillow when she got to the bedroom of her quarters. She stared at it for several moments before saying to the room at large, "I'm going to have to figure out how he does that."

The note told her that she had full range of the ship, as long as she didn't leave. She _could_ leave, it went on to say, but then he'd let Jade do whatever she wanted with Centerpoint Station.

"Blasted man," she muttered, crumpling the paper. She dropped in on the floor and the little mouse droid assigned to her quarters zipped over and beeped a scolding at her.

Since Anakin wasn't on-board, Ailana had his old room. The young woman was absolutely delighted with it. Apparently, she'd never seen anything like it before. Jaina left her to oohing and ahhing and took a short nap. When she woke, she found she had just enough time to dress for dinner with Kyp.

Jaina snorted. She was back to calling him "Kyp". Oh, well. Her brain apparently didn't want to keep calling him "Rache". Might as well let it do what it wanted.

She dressed in one of _her_ civilian outfits, black leggings and a pale blue tunic with slightly flared sleeves. She pulled her hair back in its standard braid, then coiled it at the nape of her neck. It was a pretty no-nonsense outfit, though she suspected Rache would attempt seduction no matter _what_ she was wearing.

Jaina found her own way to his quarters, no longer needing an escort. Which was fine, because none came for her. She knocked on the door, then waited for Kyp to open it. She tried not to look at him as she walked in, but it took effort, and she found herself glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

He had his boots on this time, but was dressed in a loose shirt that opened halfway down his chest. It was a dark, shiny brown.

"Okay, I take back the comment about being a shoddy dresser," she said with a sigh.

"Thank you," he said sardonically. "It's much appreciated."

Kyp wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. Jaina put her hands between them as he pulled her, keeping some space between their upper bodies. His first attempt she dodged, but on the second, she let him kiss her. He was going to kiss her whether she wanted it or not--there was no question of whether or not she liked it, the answer was "too much". Constantly battling him was getting old, frankly, and her heart just wasn't in pummelling him at the moment. Maybe later. Besides, she'd thought of a new strategy.

He must have sensed something different in her, because he drew back from the kiss with a quizzical half-scowl. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Jaina ignored him as she pulled out of his arms and went to the table. Silently, she let him hold her chair for her.

After they'd eaten, she said, "I've been thinking about this arrangement."

He lifted a dark brow. "Yes?"

"I have some . . . terms and conditions, if you will."

He sighed. "And what are they?"

She picked up her fork and sampled the dessert. "First of all, there will be no more stupid dresses. I may or may not choose to dress in one of the . . . things you got from Madame Maxima, but it will be my choice."

He rolled his green eyes. "Fine."

"Secondly, there will be no ordering me about. I am perfectly capable of free thought, and I already said I'd stay here. You do not need to threaten me."

Kyp snorted. "Done. Anything else?"

"There will be no more . . . consorting with Empress Jade. If you expect to get anywhere with me, you'll never touch her again."

"You _are_ jealous!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

Jaina glared at him. "Shut up."

"If I can't order you around, you can't order me around," he said smugly.

She turned her eyes to the ceiling. "Fine. Whatever. Next, I get some of this chocolate thing whenever I want."

He snickered. "If I'd known chocolate was the key-"

"It's not," she said, cutting him off.

"Uh-huh," he drawled, leaning back in his chair. "Any other 'conditions'?"

"No more sleeping with Jade."

"You already said that."

"I'm reiterating. I believe in monogamy, and if you want me as your . . . consort, you will, too."

He sighed, acting very put-upon. "If I must. Is that all that's on your list?"

"One more thing," she said, and he shook his head.

"What is it?"

Jaina smiled sweetly. "My mother and brother get to visit whenever they want."

There were several long, long moments of silence, in which he stared at her in horror. "You've got to be kidding me," he said at last.

"What, is the big, bad Sith Lord afraid of my mother?"

"We're not even married and you're foisting a mother-in-law on me!" he said.

Jaina resisted the urge to snicker. "Those are the terms, Durron. Take it or leave it."

"All right. Agreed. Your mother can visit, though I don't see why she'd want to." He stood up, setting his napkin on his chair, and came around the table.

Kyp took her hand and pulled her to her feet. One arm slid around her waist. He bent his head to her ear. "Now that we've concluded our business . . ."

He pressed his lips to her neck and ran his tongue down the column of her throat. Jaina shuddered, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Then again, regardless of wrong or right, she didn't seem to have much choice in the matter either way. He'd already said he'd stand by and let the Jedi--her family--be destroyed if she went back on her word.

And a large part of her wanted to give in for _her_ sake. He might have ulterior motives, but he also wanted _her_ , and that was a very, very tempting thing. She couldn't remember the last time someone had been interested in just Jaina, rather than the Sword of the Jedi. Of course, he might have been after her for the Sword thing, but did she really care? The answer was rapidly turning into an emphatic "no".

She reached out with tendrils of the Force, to make sure he wasn't manipulating her like he had the first time. She didn't know whether to be flattered or embarrassed when she found that all of his thoughts focused in other directions. At least the ones she was privy to.

Jaina pushed him away for a moment, her fingers catching around the collar of his shirt. "One last condition."

"What?" he asked, in a resigned, almost pained way.

"No more messing around in my head. You said willing, and that means _willing_ , not manipulated into thinking I'm willing."

"I'm not doing anything, little Jedi. You have my word, for the little you seem to think it's worth."

His mouth found hers and Jaina sighed, curling her fingers into the soft material of his shirt. She snaked one arm around his neck. He started backing her towards the curtained alcove-

The ship suddenly jolted, knocking them both to the floor. They landed in a tangle of limbs and his stupid cloak. Kyp landed mostly on top of her, pinning her to the plush rug just outside the curtain.

"This is a little sooner than I'd planned, but it works," he said.

"Get off me, you oaf!"

He chuckled and rolled to his feet. Jaina took his offered hand and stood up.

The lighting had changed to a pulsing red. He sighed.

"I suppose play will have to wait," he said. "I think we're under attack."

"By what?" she found herself asking. "Who'd be insane enough to attack _this_ ship?"

He pulled his commlink from his pocket. "Captain Penta."

"Yes, my lord?"

"What was that?"

"We are under attack, my lord, by a flotilla of space pirates. You might want to hurry, our shields seem to be failing."

Kyp pocketed his commlink. Jaina frowned; she was still rattled from her close brush with stupidity.

"Okay, I know there are some stupid pirates out there, but why would they attack _you_?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," he muttered, then his mood darkened. "And our shields should be fine." He looked over at Jaina. "You might want your lightsaber, I've heard some pirates tend towards cannibalism."

"Oh, that sounds like fun to deal with."

"That was my thought."

Jaina had been sarcastic, but she got the impression he wasn't. "I'll go get my lightsaber."

"You didn't bring it?"

"I wasn't planning on having to fight anything," she pointed out. As his expression lightened, she added, "Other than you, I mean."

He motioned her over to the wall and depressed one of the tiles that made up the pattern. Jaina could see up close that it was a slightly different colour than the others.

A door in front of them slid open, revealing a turbolift barely large enough for two people. Kyp motioned her in, and then pressed a button on the side wall as the door closed.

The next thing Jaina knew, the door was opening . . . into her quarters!

"So _this_ is how you've been sneaking in and out, you womprat!" Jaina slugged his shoulder.

"I've got them all over the ship," he said, rubbing his arm. "And would you please stop hitting me?"

Jaina grabbed her lightsaber, and then her belt and her blaster. "All right. I'm ready."

Ailana was in the sitting room between the two bedrooms, and she stared at them. "How- Where-"

Jaina pointed at her. "Stay here. Better yet, go lock yourself in your refresher until I come for you."

"What's going on?"

"We're having a party," Kyp said, and his eyes went yellow.

Jaina sighed. "Would you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"The eye thing."

He just looked at her. She sighed again, and followed him out.

"That's one more condition. No creepy eye thing when we're in private."  
  
"Can we discuss this later?"

"No."

"I'm beginning to regret this arrangement."

"Good."


	13. Chapter 13

**\--Chapter Thirteen--**  
  
"Hull breach on Level Four," a computerised voice said, above the klaxons blaring through the corridors.

"That's one level below us," Rache said. He thumbed his lightsaber on. The ruby blade almost vanished in the flashing red light.

"Curse whoever designed the lighting," he muttered.

"Hey, you could have checked it before you incorporated it into this behemoth," Jaina pointed out.

He just gave her a look, and she fell silent. They took one of the turbolifts to the level below them. It opened into a broad corridor, off of which branched alcoves with doors labelled 25 through 30.

"Oh, this is where your personal docking bays are," she said. "We didn't come this way before."

"No, we took the private turbolift to level two."

There was a banging behind the door to 30, which was at the end of the hall, opposite them. The door began to bend, and then burst inward. Space pirates boiled out of the doorway, into the corridor.

Behind Jaina, she sensed the arrival of Rache's personal soldier-bodyguards. She raised her lightsaber to a defensive position.

Rache grinned at her, and then he leapt forward, blade swinging.

Jaina steeled herself, took a breath, and joined the fray.

They were a bit outnumbered at the moment, since the rest of Rache's troops hadn't arrived--and there wasn't room for them in this section of the ship. It was down to Jaina, Rache, and the fifteen or so bodyguards.

It didn't seem to slow Rache down, though. He was moving faster than she'd seen anyone go, his blade moving through the pirates like a red wave of death. But the pirates kept coming, though the floor was quickly littered with bodies.

The air in the corridor grew oppressive. Jaina recognised the feeling, and whirled in time to see Rache let out a wave of eldritch lightning that crackled across the room and ensnared at least ten pirates. The dark energy kept flowing, longer than necessary to incapacitate. It pinned the pirates to the far wall, where they twitched and screamed, and began to smoke.

Jaina's stomach clenched, and she almost fell to her knees and retched. How had she almost given in to him tonight? He was a monster, a sick, evil monster!

But she couldn't let down her guard now. There were still pirates attacking, and several of Rache's guards had fallen. The carnage was sickening, but unless she wanted to die here, she had to keep fighting.

Jaina drew on the Force to sustain her, because the battle seemed endless. Already it seemed as if she'd been swinging her blade for hours, though it had probably only been minutes.

Rache let the blackened bodies of the pirates fall to the floor and unleashed a new tangle of lightning on the next group. This time he aimed for the door, and brought down enough pirates to block the large doorway.

"Seal it!" he ordered several of his troops, who carried a sheet of transparisteel large enough to cover the door. It had some sort of instant-weld or seal technology, because they levered it into place and it stuck.

Rache pulled out his commlink. "All fighters to your ships. Drive the pirates away far enough to make our turbolasers useful."

"And what?" Jaina asked. She was shaking, and whether it was from exhaustion or rage at this man, she didn't know. Maybe both. "What do we do with the hole on the other side of that? That's not going to hold them for long."

He pointed to a viewscreen. Jaina stepped forward, and saw that the pirates' ship, the one that had sealed itself to the hull breach just to the side of the force-field-protected bay entrance, had been forcibly wrenched away from the hull by several of the larger ships Rache kept on hand somewhere within the Super Star Destroyer. Sometimes, Jaina forgot they were on a ship much, much bigger than just the Shadow Academy's remains.

The resulting vacuum had sucked the rest of the pirates out into the deep freeze of open space. The hole would have to be sealed from the outside before the docking bay could be used again.

"Now," he said, "we let the _Eradicator_ do its work."  
  


\----------

"Was that supposed to impress me?" Jaina demanded upon their return to his chambers. Rache had insisted that they adjourn to his quarters after the brief battle, while his crew cleaned up the mess.

"Was what supposed to impress you?" he asked, green eyes curious, as if he didn't know.

"That display," she snapped. "The one with you electrocuting nearly forty people."

"Oh, that."

She stared at him, completely dumbfounded. He'd killed three dozen pirates with Force lightning, and all he could say was "Oh, that"?

Rache turned to her, cape swirling. His look was intense, jaw set. He had the beginnings of stubble, but it didn't make him look any softer, or less dangerous. "You seem to have forgotten, Jaina, that I am the Dark Lord of the Sith. I'm not one of your weak, deluded Jedi friends. You're not here to make nice, you're here because I want you, and if I don't have you, Empress Jade just might get what she wants."

He smiled slowly. "And I think I know what it is."

"What?" Jaina asked hollowly. His words had brought to mind all of the things she had somehow managed to forget while in his arms. First and foremost, that he had killed her father and uncle.

"You heard Pellaeon," he said. "Jade's trying to make Centerpoint Station operational again."

She stared at him, uncomprehending. "What's Centerpoint Station?"

He'd reached to pick up his wine glass from dinner, and paused with ith halfway to his lips. "You don't know?"

"I've heard it mentioned, but I don't know what it _is_. I've never been to Corellia. It was Mom and Corran Horn who dealt with Thrackan Sal-Solo's revolt fifteen years ago."

Rache drained the rest of the wine and set the glass very carefully on table. "It's a weapon. At least, that's what the rumours are. It's a sort of space station that exists between Talus and Tralus in the Corellia system."

Her brow furrowed. "What kind of weapon?"

"Something that has the _potential_ to make the Death Star look paltry." Rache turned to her, offering her discarded glass. She refused, so he put it aside. "I don't know what, exactly, it does. But given what Exar Kun told me, he heard it's a laser, possibly the technology that Palpatine based the Death Star itself on. I don't know. I only know that it's been there at least four thousand years."

Jaina sat on the chair she'd abandoned. "What do you mean, a laser?"

He shrugged. "I don't really know and don't much care. I don't want it in Jade's hands, or in the New Republic's."

"You want it for yourself," she said bitterly.

Those green eyes fixed on her. "Would it surprise you if I said I didn't? I'm not out for galactic domination. Besides, if I wanted to go that route, I have something . . . more suitable."

"And what would that be?" Jaina asked. She had a feeling she knew, but wanted to hear it from him directly.

He studied her face for several long moments. "Surely you remember Carida, Jedi Solo? What use would _I_ have for a _laser_ when I have the power to destroy whole systems at the push of a button?"  
  


\----------

She knew that storming out of his quarters the way she'd done had been childish, but it was that or try to kill him. She wasn't going to put many credits on him pulling his punches just because he wanted to sleep with her.

Instead of retreating to her quarters, Jaina made her way down to Bay 27, where the StealthX fighters were stored. The crew was still in the middle of cleanup and she sidestepped the carnage.

"This area is off-limits," one of the senior crew members told her.

"His Lordship-" Calling him that galled her. "-said I have access. If you want to stop me, take it up with him."

The man stepped aside, obviously more afraid of Rache than Jaina was.

She palmed open the door and sealed it behind her. The hangar was full of the sleek, dark craft, and while she admired their lines, she really did prefer an XJX to one of these things.

However, she didn't have an XJX here.

After borrowing a flightsuit, this one black, Jaina picked one close to the hangar exit and used the Force to propel herself up, forgoing a ladder. These models didn't have astromechs, intended mostly for short-range almost like a TIE fighter, and she found herself wishing she had her droid, even if just for someone to bounce her thoughts off of.

It was surprising how easily they let her go. She merely said that she was taking the fighter out, and Control said "Affirmative", and out she went.

Not long before, she'd lamented being stuck in a cockpit for days. Jaina wished she could have taken it back, and never found Rache. Luxurious as her accommodations on the _Eradicator_ were, Jaina felt like a kept thing, and she hated it.

Even more, she hated her attraction to this man she'd sworn to destroy. She hated that she'd been put into this position of having to cater to him or risk wrecking her government's plans.

 _When this is over_ , she thought, _I'm going to spend a week on the beaches of Hapes with Tenel Ka and Zekk and just forget that this whole thing ever happened._

Her proximity alarm let her know there was a fighter coming alongside her. It showed as a friendly, but she knew no one onboard that ship was a friend. She reached out through the Force, expecting Kyp, but instead, encountered that both alien and familiar presence that heralded Reiniger.

"Going somewhere?" he asked over the comm system.

"Needed to get away from your master," she snapped.

Reiniger drew close enough that she could see his helmeted head through the transparisteel of his cockpit. "If you leave, he'll come after you."

"I'm not leaving," she said defensively. "And what do you care, anyway?"

"What makes you think I do?" he asked, and there was an edge of laughter in his voice. 

"Well, you're following me, for one."

He did laugh this time, and it was chilling.

Jaina swallowed past the lump in her throat. Fear, grief, anger, all very dangerous emotions, threatened to choke her. "You said there's no family loyalty in you, so why are you following me?"

"I said I had no loyalty to _you_."

"Loyalty to yourself only is more like it."

"Come on, Big Sis, don't play at that."

She shuddered and swung her fighter hard to starboard. After a second, he followed her.

"You're running from it," he said. "This was my destiny, Jaina. It's your destiny."

"Luke Skywalker, I'm told, used to say that the future is always in motion," she told him. "As far as I know, there's no such thing as destiny."

"Jaina, Jaina, Jaina," he chided mockingly. "You know that's a lie. The sooner you quit deceiving yourself, the sooner my master will be happy."

"I don't want to make your master happy!" she cried. Jaina snapped off the comm system and headed back to the ship, wanting to get away from Reiniger.

Without a word to the Sith, she hurried from the hangar. Rache was reclining on his chair before the fire when she burst into his quarters.

"Jaina," he drawled. "This is a pleasant surprise. So eager to be with me that you couldn't knock?"

"Get spaced," she snarled. "Keep your follower away from me."

"But Jaina, he's your brother."

She willed her eyes not to fill with tears at the surprised tone of his voice. "He's not my brother, and he hasn't been for two decades. Keep him _away_ from me, or I'll call this whole thing off."

At last, she retreated to her quarters. Ailana was there, cautiously peering out of the refresher in her room.

"Is it safe?" she asked.

Jaina sighed, realising that she hadn't come back to tell Ailana the pirates were dealt with. "Not entirely, but the pirates are gone."

"Is there anything I can help you with, milady?"

Jaina sighed and shook her head. "No, Ailana, thank you. I'm going to take a long, hot bath and pretend the galaxy doesn't exist for a while."

Ailana looked uncertain, but didn't push. She retreated to her room, and Jaina went for hers.

This was already proving to be a long, long mission.


	14. Chapter 14

**\--Chapter Fourteen--**  
  
Jaina's plan to redeem Jacen became a little unrealistic in the face of her inability to be in the same room with him. Surprisingly true to his word, Rache kept Reiniger away from her for the most part.

Rache's troops had captured several of the pirates, as well as their primary ship. The rest had been destroyed, ships and their crew. Even under torture, the pirates wouldn't divulge why they had attacked the _Eradicator_. Reiniger handled the "interrogations", while Rache focused his energy on regaining ground lost when Jaina had witnessed his destruction of the pirates during the attack.

The Sith Lord actually felt a little annoyed with himself and ashamed that he had lost control so completely. The fact that he felt that shame just made his annoyance greater. To distract himself from the issue, he focused his energy on the _Eradicator_ , and ordered the ship to an Imperial shipyard for repairs, as the damage was greater than initially suspected.

"I think they weren't out to salvage," he remarked to a silent, sullen Jaina several nights after the attack. "I think they were out to destroy."

"Gee, I wonder why they would do a thing like that," she said bitterly.

She was angry with herself because she'd allowed herself to be deluded into thinking that she could make this work. It pained her to think that she actually _missed_ bantering with the monster that sat across from her at the table. It was a bad sign, and Jaina wasn't equipped to deal with the emotional tumult.

"We'll be here for several days, at least," he went on, ignoring her scowl. "I'm upgrading the shield generators. They failed much too early in the battle."

She merely sipped her wine.

"Jaina."

Slowly, she looked up.

His green eyes were steady, face inscrutable. "I'm not going to hurt you, Jaina. I would never hurt you. But I'm not going to hide what I am. _You_ came to _me_ , knowing what I am, needing my help. But I'm not a patient man, Jaina. What I have of it is wearing thin. Given this attack on my ship and my crew, and what it's going to cost me to repair the ship because I'm in the border, waiting for you to fulfill your part of the bargain . . ."

He let the sentence hang, and Jaina swallowed. Anakin had been right; Rache wasn't going to wait forever.

"Soon," she said, and hated that her voice wavered. "Just . . . a little longer."  
  


\----------

Rache chose the shipyards at Gyndine for the repairs. Despite the fact that there were many ships waiting for repairs there, the _Eradicator_ 's repairs were moved to the front of the queue because no one wanted to deal with Rache in a bad mood.

Jaina felt on the verge of going mad aboard the massive ship, with only Rache and Ailana to talk to. Kyp she was avoiding, and Ailana, while a sweet girl and eager to please, was just so naive that it made Jaina's nerves fray.

Her delusions about stalling Kyp long enough to get the New Republic what they wanted and then kill him were tossed by the wayside as she realised that she was only delaying the inevitable. So, too, went her plans of redeeming Jacen. At this point, given how she couldn't stand to be in his presence because of the black pit of evil she felt of him in the Force, Jaina put those thoughts aside. She knew it was not very Jedi-like of her to make that decision, but she could only deal with one Sith at a time, and Reiniger scared her more than Rache did.

As the repairs were being completed on the ship, there was little to do and nowhere to go. They were in the border territories, a dangerous stretch of space, and Jaina didn't fancy taking one of the Stealth-X fighters out and running into any more space pirates.

"You look troubled," Ailana said as Jaina prepared for another dinner with Rache.

"More preoccupied," the Jedi admitted.

The younger woman didn't comment. "Which dress would you like to wear this evening?"

Jaina looked at the expensive silks and velvets, and down at her current attire of sand-coloured robes. "You know, Ailana . . . I think I'll wear this. Rache wants me, _this_ is me, and he can take it or leave it."

She was purposely late, just to irk him. When she took the turbolift up, minimizing the intimidation factor of the suite's main entrance, Jaina felt resigned, tired of playing games. Besides, as she knew too well, the more you poked a sleeping gundark, the higher the chance of injury.

"Those robes aren't going to deter me, Jaina."

He was waiting for her, as usual, only this time, he was sprawled across the bed. She'd been right about it, it was enormous. Big enough for the picnic he'd set out on it.

"Why haven't you ever attempted to seduce me in _my_ quarters?" Jaina asked as she wandered over. "Why is it always here, in your quarters?"

He smiled slowly. "Honestly? The bed's bigger in here."

She didn't blush this time, but the room certainly felt warmer.

Jaina didn't want to go near the bed, but she _was_ hungry, and the food looked delicious. Maybe if he stayed on his side, which she knew wasn't likely to happen, she'd be okay. _Dream on, Solo_ , she thought to herself.

She perched on the edge of the bed opposite him. His smile in response was predatory. Silently, he handed her a goblet of dark wine.

"You're very fond of this," she pointed out.

"The blue and green wines clash," he murmured.

He had a point.

For once, he wasn't dressed in a way that distracted her, but that in and of itself provided enough to keep her on edge. She tried to concentrate on her food, but ate little, even though it was as good as it looked.

Kyp cleared the dinner plates and put them in a basket on the floor on his side of the bed. He handed her a new one, this one with some sort of chocolate confection on it. He'd remembered her condition about chocolate, it seemed, and the conversation around it.

Their small-talk was banal, almost surreal, as if it were an illusion and the real communication was happening under the surface. It was especially strange considering that he was Darth Rache outside this room, but inside it, just a very determined male.

"Jaina," he said.

She looked up at him, from her plate and her untouched dessert, seeing that he'd cleared everything except her plate.

Kyp reached across the space between them. He used her fork to slice off a bite and offered it to her. After a moment, she accepted, slowly taking the chocolate from the tines with her teeth.

His eyes darkened, black pools in the firelight. Kyp fed her another bite. This time she used her lips, even while she wondering what in the worlds she was doing, taunting him.

After the third bite, Kyp moved the plate and slid across the space between them. She'd gradually relaxed, moving further onto the bed, and now she realised that she'd moved perhaps a bit too far.

Kyp's hand slid into her hair, his fingers pulling the tie from it and freeing the brown strands from her standard braid. He kissed her, mouth slanting over hers, his tongue parting her lips. She sighed; he tasted like chocolate, even more intoxicating than the wine.

His other hand came up to cup her cheek and he pressed the advantage, deepening the kiss. She was drowning in it, and she didn't care. Jaina reached up and took a handful of his hair, holding him for balance as she leaned up into the kiss.

They separated by degrees, breath mingling for several minutes before they really pulled apart. They studied each other, gauging reactions. She was rumpled, mouth swollen; he looked, for once, just as affected.

"I've missed you," Jaina whispered. "My whole life, it seems. Even knowing who you are."

Kyp raised an eyebrow as he moved forward, pressing one leg between her knees, urging her back. "Missed me? You barely knew me before you came looking for me."

Jaina put her hand on his chest to maintain some distance. She was having trouble thinking, and she didn't think he was doing anything to her. Yet. "I missed you . . . like the deserts miss the rain," she said.

He propped one hand on the headboard and looked down at her. "You can't miss something you've never known."

"No," she whispered. "But you can long for it desperately, so much you think you could die without it."

Faint surprise showed on his face. He trailed a finger over her collar bone and down the edge of her outer robe's neckline. His hand travelled down, below her line of sight, and she realised as he flicked the top layer of her robe open that her belt had disappeared.

"Cute trick," she breathed. "How long has it been gone?"

"I took it off during dinner."

This time, when he kissed her, Jaina knew she wasn't going to resist any longer. The decision had been building since the moment he'd told her his condition on joining the Republic.

Jaina pushed on his chest to create a little distance, just enough to breathe. "Just so we're clear on this," she said, "I hate you."

Kyp smiled wryly. "No, you don't. But you can think that if it makes you feel better."  
  


\----------

She'd known in dressing for tonight that the struggle between them was going to reach its climax. She hadn't dressed, really, in an attempt to resist him, just forestall the inevitable.

It didn't forestall much. His fingers were deft as he stripped the top layer away and tossed it over his shoulder. His hands smoothed over the layer underneath, hands moulded to her form as if he were shaping her torso, sculpting her. She arced up into his hands with a sound of pleasure.

He leaned over her, looking down at her as his fingers stroked her ribs. "Tell me you want me," he whispered.

"You know I do."

"Say it."

"I want you."

His mouth found a sensitive spot under her jaw. Jaina let her head fall to the side as he sucked lightly at the spot. The hand not supporting him was squeezing her breast in a way that made her short of breath.

Kyp kissed his way down to the hollow between neck and shoulder, pulling the fabric of her shirt aside, and he gently nipped at the skin there. Jaina let out a small sound of surprise and opened her eyes.

"I'm not going to bite you," he said.

Reassured, she leaned back against the pillows. He sat up and swiftly unfastened his shirt, dropping it over the side of the bed. Jaina's eyes went to the tattoo on his left bicep, his Sith marking.

"We all have one," he murmured.

"Oh," was all she could say. She levered herself upright and placed her hands on his taut stomach. If she was going to do this, she might as well be an active participant and get all she could out of the liaison.

He was straddling her legs, which meant he was still above her. Jaina reached up and pulled his head down, kissing him hungrily. Kyp made a growling noise and used a hand flat on her back to press her flush against his chest.

Jaina slid an arm around his waist, fingers eager to feel his skin. She was amazed at how ready she was for this, now that she had taken that last step and jumped into free-fall. She twined a leg through his and managed to roll them over so that she was in the position of power.

He let out a surprised laugh as he hit the mattress, pleased that she had given in so completely. Kyp pushed her tunic up, wanting to see the rest of her. Jaina yanked the offending garment off and flung it, feeling rather worshipped at the bold and appreciative look he gave her as he cupped her breasts.

"Goddess," he said huskily. "Yes, I can see why."

She leaned forward, letting her hair fall forward over her shoulder as she braced a hand to either side of his head. Her brown eyes closed as he gently kneaded her flesh, rolling the tips of her breasts into hard points.

Kyp lifted his head to the tempting orbs hovering over his face, and latched onto a dusky nipple and sucked on it. With his free hand, he found the juncture of her thighs and rubbed his fingers against her through the fabric of her leggings. Jaina responded eagerly, rolling her hips towards his touch.

"Oh, Force," she gasped. "More."

He automatically untied the drawstring of her leggings and slipped his hand inside. Parting her netherlips with his fingers, he sought for and found the nub of her clitoris. 

She shuddered and jerked, grabbing the headboard for support. Her breathing fast and shallow, Jaina opened her eyes and found him looking up at her, watching her face. She slid backwards and he released her nipple with a gasp as she settled against the ridge of his erection, still confined by his trousers.

Jaina tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him up. She nipped at his bottom lip and he responded with hands on her hips, rocking her against him.

"Are you doing something to me?" she asked him breathlessly, mouth against his.

He laughed, low and growly. "You're half-naked in my arms, little Jedi. Of course I'm doing something to you."

"I mean with my thoughts," she clarified, letting her lips trail across his stubbled jaw. At the moment, she didn't particularly care. It was curiosity more than anything.

"No," he said honestly. "I told you, I don't want you that way."

Kyp closed his eyes briefly when she lightly bit his earlobe. Then he pulled back a little, to see her face clearly.

"I want you _this_ way," he said. "Just you, just me."

"I like this way, too," she said. Jaina leaned in and licked his neck. She slid her hand down, between them, and into the waist of his pants.

"Do you know why my callsign is Sticks?" she asked him, teasing him there at the edge of the fabric.

"Why?" he asked, barely able to concentrate on her words with her fingers so near to his erection.

"Because," she drawled, "I fly _stick_ in the cockpit."

Her hand closed around him and gave him a firm stroke upwards.

"Stang," he breathed, his hips seeking to follow. "Jaina."

Kyp caught the tumble of her hair in a fist and used his hold on her to drag her in for a heated kiss that was tongues and teeth and made Jaina moan. She pulled away, gasping for air, and shoved him down on the bed, kissing her way down his chest. She licked his belly, which made the taut muscles tighten under her fingers.

She made quick work of the rest of his clothes, pulling the pants down his hips. He kicked them off, nearly toppling her over. Only his quick reflexes kept her upright on the mattress.

Jaina slid off the bed and turned away as she shed her leggings. Behind her, the bed dipped and Kyp reached for her as the material pooled at her feet, pulling her bare back against his chest. One hand around her ribs, the other slid down to the apex of her thighs. He pulled her onto the bed and they ended up in a tangle of limbs on hands and knees.

Kyp settled his weight against her, bent over Jaina as she knelt on the bed. "I'm tempted to take you like this," he rasped. "Do you want me to?"

She pushed back against him, shivering at his breath on her neck. "I don't know," she purred. "Can your knees take it?"

He snorted. "My knees are *fine," he growled. "I'm not _that_ old."

Jaina laughed and urged him backwards with her body, twisting in his arms so that they knelt on the bed, facing each other. She had to admit that she liked this, touching him from chest to knee, feeling his desire for her so strongly.

His hands cupped her buttocks and she bit her lip at the stab of arousal. Kyp tipped backwards and she spread her legs as he pulled her with him, sliding along his body to straddle his hips.

"Like this," he murmured. "I want to watch your face, little Jedi."

Jaina liked her return to the dominant position. She reached down and grasped him, holding his manhood steady, the blunt head pressing against the moist heat of her entrance.

A second ticked by, and that turned into several. He let out a ragged breath, realising that she was intentionally teasing him.

"By the Force, Jaina," he gritted out.

"I told you," she breathed, "it would be on _my_ terms."

Slowly, achingly slowly, she lowered down, taking him into her tight passage. For her, it had been a long time, and he wasn't exactly under-endowed. Jaina stopped about halfway and lifted, pausing there.

Then she sank onto him, taking his full length with one stroke. She made a little murmuring sound as he filled her, one of pure pleasure. His hands caressed her thighs as he sighed, finally having what he'd wanted. The satisfaction of it had him grinning as she began to move.

She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, let alone had in his bed. He'd known that once he got past her stubborn Jedi exterior, a woman of pure passion would be locked inside. That she was unleashing it for him had him harder than he could ever recall.

Kyp roamed his hands over her body as she rode him, possessive in his touch. She was his, now, and he had no plans to let her go back to the Jedi. He wasn't about to let another man touch her.

At the thought, he growled low in his throat and gripped her hips, thrusting up forcefully so that she gasped and faltered in her rhythm. Kyp used his control of the Force to ghost phantom caresses over her where his hands couldn't. She shuddered and whimpered, clenching down on him as she abruptly climaxed, overwhelmed by the influx of pleasure.

His smile predatory and a little feral, Kyp flipped her onto her back, even as she shook from her orgasm. The move had dislodged him, and he thrust back into her, pressing her down into the mattress. Jaina arced beneath him, crying out wordlessly as he claimed her.

He was not gentle, letting the beast within unfurl to take hold. It pleased him that Jaina responded eagerly, clawing at his back as he moved over her, pounding his hips against hers. Her lithe legs wrapped around his waist, her long dark hair spilling across the silk sheets.

"Yes," she hissed. "Oh, Force!"

Kyp kissed her roughly, demandingly, before he buried his face in her neck and sucked at the flesh there. She moaned, the sound broken as she jerked with his movements.

"Please," Jaina cried. "Please, let me-"

He slowed, lifting on an elbow as he thrust deeply, drinking in the play of emotion on her face. Her spine bowed as she climaxed again, gasping for air. It was only then that he let himself follow, groaning as he did.

Collapsing in a sweaty pile, they lay panting for several long moments. When her heart rate had finally slowed to one that didn't make her dizzy, Jaina stretched and rolled to her side, only then aware that their feet were near the headboard and the sheets had been partially yanked off the mattress.

"Wow," she said throatily. She was amazed at what had just happened, a little embarrassed that she had lost control so completely. But, she had to admit, she had never felt so . . . free.

Kyp didn't respond verbally. He reached for her, sliding his fingers into the tangle of her hair, drawing her in for another kiss, one that was slow and tender this time. Her bruised lips parted and she sighed.

The second time was unhurried, and Jaina fell into a blissful, exhausted sleep. There would be repercussions from this, but she could deal with them in the morning.


	15. Chapter 15

**\--Chapter Fifteen--**  
  
The fire had gone out when Jaina woke. With the curtains nearly closed, the bed was dark as the edges of space. It was a lot warmer than space, though, and for a long moment, she lay lethargically in Kyp's arms, not even thinking of anything, just listening to him breathe.

She wanted to stay in this place forever, and that realisation filled her with a mixture of sadness and frustration. Jaina knew she couldn't have a normal life with him. She was a Jedi, he was a Sith. There was no compromise there, no middle ground, even if they had found a temporary one. It wouldn't last.

Rising from the bed, Jaina caught up the outer layer of her robes and wrapped herself in them, using them as armour more now than she had earlier. Quietly, not wanting to wake Rache, she gathered her things. She slipped into the refresher and took a quick sani-steam, re-dressing in a minimalistic tunic and pants. Leaving her feet bare, she tiptoed across the massive room to the turbolift. 

Jaina padded into her chamber, tossing her robes on a chair by the door. She headed to the bed. Something cold and wet under her toes stopped her, just a pace or two from it. Then her nose picked up the smells she'd been too distracted to notice before.

Something metallic, something . . . foul, and . . .

She backed up, every hair standing on end, and slipped, going to her knees. Breathing through her mouth and not her nose, Jaina scrambled to her feet and slapped the controls for the light.

The dark grey carpet was stained black in strange pools, mostly by the right side of the bed. The rest of it was almost too abstract for Jaina to make out immediately, but when the pale, white form that lay sprawled across the torn black covers came into focus, everything else did, too.

There was blood everywhere, everywhere but where it should be: in Ailana's veins. The girl was twisted on the bed, feet hanging off one side, a single hand trailing over the edge closest to Jaina, fingers touching the carpet. Her eyes were wide and blank, mouth open in a silent scream.

Having fought a war, Jaina was familiar with death, but it hadn't struck home quite like this before. She felt bile rise and ran for the 'fresher just off the sitting room, falling to her knees and retching until there was nothing left.

Rising on shaking legs, oblivious to the crimson trail she was leaving everywhere, Jaina stumbled to the turbolift and in mere moments was back in Rache's chambers.

He was in the process of dressing, and turned in surprise when he felt Jaina's panic as she almost fell into the room. His green eyes went from her face to her hands.

"Kyp," she said. "Oh, Force."

"What happened?" he demanded. "Is that blood? Are you hurt?"

Numbly, she shook her head and held out her hands. "Not me. Ailana. It's . . . bad. Very, very bad."

He pointed to one of the chairs at the table. "Sit down. And stay here."

She had no intention of arguing, not wanting to see that again. It was bad enough when she closed her eyes.

Rache caught up his cape and stormed out.  
  


\----------

As he stalked down the corridor to his apprentice's room, Rache inwardly seethed. Half of his anger, he knew, was from fear at the knowledge that if Jaina had not spent last night with him, it was possible that _she_ could be where the decoy was. The other half was anger that he had somehow let this happen, that there was an assassin aboard _his_ ship. He'd planned for it, yes, but that didn't assuage any of his fury.

Rache opened the door to Reiniger's quarters and yanked his apprentice out of bed with the Force. "Get _up_!"

Reiniger's eyes were brown and bleary at having been so rudely awakened. "Master?" he asked, from where he sat on the floor. "What's going on?"

"There is an assassin on our ship," Rache informed him. "We need to root them out, _now_."

His apprentice swiftly got to his feet. "Let me dress."

Rache headed without comment towards Jaina's quarters. He was joined quickly by Reiniger, now fully alert and attentive.

"What happened?" the younger man asked.

Palming the control for Jaina's door, Rache let them into the luxurious quarters. It wasn't difficult to spot the bloody smears on the white carpet of the sitting room, leading to Jaina's room.

For a long moment, both men stood at the doorway, staring at the carnage evident there.

"This was angry," Reiniger said. "I can feel the rage and hatred behind it."

Nodding silently, Rache stepped into the room, carefully avoiding the blood. "This was done with a bladed weapon, not a lightsaber. Not a vibroblade, though. Something cruder, possibly improvised."

Strange that there were only Jaina's footprints in the blood. Or . . .

"These," he said, and gestured to bloody prints going around the foot of the bed. "These are not Jaina's, they're not the right size. Jaina's feet are not this wide or flat, you see?"

"Yes, Master." Reiniger frowned. "But they _are_ bare. What does that mean?"

"That someone didn't want their footsteps heard?" the Sith Lord guessed. "I'll admit, I have no idea."

Straightening, he looked around the chamber. "Who has access to these rooms?" he asked quietly. "I do, you do. Jaina, obviously. Who else?"

"No one should," his apprentice said. "But there are . . . emergency overrides that the captain has access to."

Rache was quiet for a very long time. When he looked at Reiniger, his eyes were icy green, not the burning yellow. It was no less frightening. "Captain Penta," he stated flatly.

"Yes, Master." His apprentice hesitated, then smirked. "Lord Rache, the captain has . . . I assumed you were aware of the captain's . . . feelings for you? She's incredibly jealous of your little plaything."

That actually surprised Rache, but he didn't admit it. "Hmm."

"She also has a blade collection," Reiniger said, after a moment. "I heard her discussing it with one of your guards."

"Yes, I am aware of her collection. I presented her with one for her last lifeday." The Sith Lord was silent for a long moment. "Is she our spy, Reiniger?"

The young Sith looked thoughtful. "It . . . is a definite possiblilty, Master. She _does_ have access to nearly every area of the ship."

Rache's features were stony as he turned away from the carnage. "Let us go speak to the captain."  
  


\----------

Jaina took a long shower while Rache was gone, scrubbing until she felt cleaner. It would be a long while before the phantom feeling of blood on her skin went away. Wrapping herself in one of Rache's shirts, she huddled in the middle of the huge bed, wondering why _this_ death had her so shell-shocked. She'd seen worse before, had seen it happen to those she'd known much longer than Ailana, those who had meant more.

She was no closer to an answer when the doors to Rache's quarters opened and the man himself entered, some of his guards carrying her trunks following behind. Without a word, the men set the boxes down and left.

Rache handed Jaina her lightsaber. "Here."

Accepting it, Jaina swallowed and asked, "What are you doing with my things?"

He glanced at her as he opened one of the large armoires that stood by the bed. "Moving you in here. It's the safest place for you."

Oh, the irony in that.

"Did you find anything?" she asked. "About Ailana?"

"The situation . . . has been dealt with," was all he said. "For now."

She frowned. "'Dealt with'?" she asked.

"Brig. Not morgue." He looked darkly amused at her assumption. "I'm not your grandfather, little Jedi. I don't just kill someone who annoys me."

Jaina slowly rose from the bed and went to the armoire. There was no point in resisting; she didn't even want to. It was a little too domestic, really, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

He studied her face as she moved the contents of the trunks into the armoire. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She paused in hanging up one of the dresses Ailana had tried to talk her into wearing the night before. "I don't know," she admitted. "I feel . . . off. I've seen death before, I don't know why I'm-"

Jaina cut herself off abruptly, annoyed that she had been confiding in him like that.

"Battle," he corrected. "This was murder, and they're very different."

His tone made her turn to him. He wasn't looking at her now, his expression somewhere far away.

"I . . . feel guilty," she said slowly. "That I was here, that we were- while she was- while she was dying in my quarters."

He wanted to comfort her, and the weakness had him clenching fists as he turned away. "What's done is done," he said shortly. "Stay here. I'm going to talk to my officers. Do _not_ leave my quarters, Jaina."

The order made her bristle, breaking away some of the ice that chilled her so badly. "I thought you said you'd dealt with it," she said caustically.

Rache narrowed his eyes at her. "I've done what I can for the present," he said. "That does not mean you are not still in danger."

He left on an angry note, cape snapping behind him as he did.

Jaina sat on the bed and gave a heavy sigh. And they were back to fighting. Why did that surprise her?


	16. Chapter 16

**\--Chapter Sixteen--**  
  
 _Yavin IV_  
  
Leia liked to come up here, to the audience chamber, after everyone else had gone to bed. It tended to be on nights when she was troubled, like now. She was worried for Jaina. she didn't like that her daughter was alone out there, somewhere in the dark of space, with a Sith Lord.

"I always knew he'd end up doing no good," she whispered.

"That's a lie, Leia, and you know it."

She turned in her chair, brown eyes widening at the sight that greeted her. Bathed in a blue glow, Luke Skywalker sat in the chair he'd never actually occupied in life, smiling beatifically at his sister.

"Luke," she whispered.

"Hello, Leia."

"Are you- are you really here?"

He nodded. "I am. I couldn't come before, I'm sorry. And I can't stay long."

She missed him terribly, as much as she missed Han. "Why are you here?"

"To see you. And to tell you that what Jaina's doing, right now, is the path that she is supposed to be on. Kyp isn't going to hurt her. He needs her more than he knows."

"You can see that from where you are?"

Luke nodded again. "I can. The future is always in motion, but every path I see ahead, ends with Jaina needing to be by Kyp's side at a very important moment. If it makes you feel better, send Anakin to join her. But she's where she needs to be."

She looked down at her hands, clenched tight in her lap. "Luke . . . Is Han there?"

Her brother's expression was sad. "Han wasn't a Jedi, Leia. He wouldn't be where I am. I'm sorry."

Then he began to fade.

"Luke, don't-"

"I'll be back. Soon. Just remember, the Force will be with you always."

Then he was gone.

Leia contemplated his words. She didn't feel any better about what Jaina was doing, but having seen Luke, after so long . . . she'd make it through.  
  


\----------

Jaina spent the day largely in a stupor, wondering what she could have done differently to save Ailana's life. The girl had been defenseless and alone, slaughtered while Jaina threw herself willingly into the arms of evil.

She laughed bitterly at the thought. How melodramatic she'd become since making this deal with Rache. "The arms of evil"? It was like a bad holosoap.

Guilt, she knew, was the driving force behind the maelstrom of emotions. She'd forced herself to go back to her former quarters and look; if she was honest with herself, she knew there was nothing she really could have done. True, if she'd been there, maybe she could have stopped the attacker. She was a warrior, and Ailana hadn't been.

But she hadn't known danger was coming that night. How could she stop something she didn't see coming?

Jaina didn't like the way Reiniger had watched her from the doorway, as she'd spent those moments trying to convince herself she could have saved her handmaid. Her grief and upset had amused him.

She couldn't think of him as Jacen. She'd tried. But he was too alien, too far gone, to be her twin. She saw flashes of Kyp, the boy he'd been, in Rache, thought maybe he was still in there somewhere. But Reiniger, she saw, had been shaped far too early for anything of the lost toddler to exist.

She hurt more for her mother than herself, knowing that hard truth. How much more did Leia Solo have to lose? The truth was, not a hell of a lot.

She lay restlessly beside Rache that night, while he slept. Watching him sleep, with the light from the fire they left burning in itself containment field spilling in a small sliver across his features, Jaina couldn't keep her thoughts from wandering.

If she were brutally honest with herself, the more she was around Rache, the less she saw him as a frightening, foreign force. She was beginning to lose sight of her goals, and she didn't know anymore _what_ she wanted.

Except she did know one thing: she wanted Kyp. She wanted to see him smile again.

And the desire scared her.

It was not a restful sleep for him, either. She reached out and gently smoothed the little lines between his brows. Then she traced his cheekbone, and knew that something had been irrevocably changed.

She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart. She had the strangest feeling of safety here. Jaina closed her eyes, trying to will away these feelings.

Jaina knew the moment he woke, because his heart jolted a little.

Kyp's hand came up and stroked her shoulder. "You're still awake."

She raised her head. "I've tried to sleep. I keep seeing Ailana, and . . ." Jaina let the rest trail.

His fingers moved to her hair. "I thought for certain you'd run away by now."

She met his gaze for a moment, then looked away and gave a small shrug. "Staying, leaving. It wouldn't change this."

A fine tremour ran through him; she wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been holding her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Jaina _saw_ Rache take over and Kyp was pushed back behind his walls. He let go of her and left the bed, stalking over to the fireplace, where he stood in silhouette.

After a few moments, Jaina slid from under the covers, dragging the top sheet with her. She padded across the cold marble to stand next to him on the rug.

He stared into the fire, almost without seeing it, his hands braced on the mantel even with his head. With his long hair loose around his shoulders, he looked sort of wild and primal. But that didn't hide the pain on his face, even though he'd dampened it in the Force. That flicker of yellow she'd seen in his eyes as he left the bed was gone again, replaced with that soft, mossy green she loved so much.

When he spoke, it was very nearly inaudible. "Is it too much to ask that someone _want me_?"

The sharp little stab of anguish in Jaina was all hers as she realised that even the great Sith Lord was only human.

"For thirty years," he said, turning to look at her, "I've only been worth what I could _do_ for someone. In Kessel, I was a slave. To Luke, I was someone he could poke and prod and train like a Kowakian monkey lizard. To my _master_ , I was a tool, a means to an end. To Jade, I am a toy. To the Republic, nothing more than a weapon to threaten others with. Even to _you_ , Jaina, I am to be used and discarded."

Jaina sought him through the Force, but found him tightly closed off. She reached out with her arms then, not entirely sure what she was doing. He could be manipulating her; he was good at it. She didn't care.

She pressed her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes, not knowing _why_ she wanted to comfort him. She didn't refute his words, just stood in silence with her arms around his waist.

After a long while, he brought his arms up and folded her in them. Then he lifted her and carried her back to bed, where she finally slept.  
  


\----------

The next few days passed in relative monotony, everyone walking on eggshells, waiting for the next attack, the next tragedy. Jaina wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with herself, now that she'd given in to Rache. She'd had purpose before, but somewhere, she'd lost it.

As for Rache, he busied himself during the days with sending scouts to recon the Empire's border holdings, and to planning strategy against Jade. It was a little frightening sometimes to watch him plan subtle strikes, using ships stolen from the pirates to raid Imperial outposts. The mind behind that handsome face was stunning, both in its complexity and its ruthlessness.

But when he was in private with her, Jaina saw a different man. Held in his arms, deep in the dark of night, she wondered which one was real.

She didn't know if she could bear it if the man that touched her, spoke her name with such tenderness and passion, was a just a façade, because she'd realised she had the worst luck ever.

She was falling in love with him.


	17. Chapter 17

**\--Chapter Seventeen--**  
  
The commlink on Rache's nightstand beeped insistently, waking Jaina from a sound slumber. She sat up and blinked, brain still fuzzy from sleep. _He_ seemed to have no problem, however, and was alert when he answered.

The newly-promoted captain's voice was a little tinny as he spoke. "My lord, there is an X-wing hailing us. He identifies himself as Jedi Solo and requests permission to dock."

Kyp rolled over and looked at Jaina with an arched brow. She shrugged.

"Permission granted." He gave a few orders as to where to install their visitor, then shut off the call.

Flopping back on the pillows, he sighed.

"What do you suppose your brother wants?" he asked the canopy.

"I have no idea. I haven't spoken to him since we left Yavin."

And so much had changed since then.

Jaina got out of bed and dressed, wondering as she brushed and braided her hair how she was going to explain to Anakin the developments in her relationship with the Sith Lord that even now yawned as he pulled on his pants. She paused in plaiting the long, dark locks and watched him for a moment, put off by the utter banality of the moment.

_Just the normal morning routine, me and the Dark Lord of the Sith._

She met Anakin at the docking bay. Rache had gone to do whatever it was he was doing, and so the siblings had a measure of privacy to greet one another.

"You look . . . surprisingly well," Anakin said, after they'd exchanged hugs. "I'd have expected you to be, I dunno, ready to kill him by now."

She shook her head. "No. It's been, um, odd."

Anakin slung an arm around his sister's shoulders. "Odd how? I mean, besides the obvious?"

"Well, I met Empress Jade, for one. And we were attacked by space pirates. Oh, and someone killed the maid Rache hired for me. She was apparently tidying up my quarters and someone killed her. Rache thinks they mistook her for me."

Anakin stopped walking, and grabbed her arm. "You wanna repeat that, Jay?"

With a sigh, she told him about Ailana's death, leaving out her whereabouts at the time of the murder. "There's the possibility Jade put someone on the ship to take me out, since she might view me as a rival."

"A rival for _what_?" her little brother demanded.

"Rache. She's got a thing for him."

He gagged.

"Yeah, I'm not thrilled about it, either." She took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something, and you need to promise not to get angry with me."

Dark brows drew together over blue eyes. "What? Are you sleeping with him?"

"Actually, yeah, I am."

"Huh." He rolled his shoulders, obviously uncomfortable with the idea, but unable to realistically offer objections at the current time. After all, they'd both known that eventually, she'd either have to give in or kill Rache.

Finally, her brother asked, "Is he . . . treating you all right?"

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "Surprisingly, he is. I know, I'm a little baffled, too."

Anakin studied her for a moment, then mentally shrugged. "So, I take it I'm in different quarters this time?"

"Considering the previous ones are still, uh . . . being redecorated, yeah." Jaina felt another stab of guilt over Ailana, and shoved it aside. "Let's go find one, shall we?"  
  


\----------

When Jaina returned from seeing Anakin settled, she found Kyp waiting by the fireplace. He'd spread thick blankets and furs before the roaring fire and lay on his side with a glass of wine, dressed only in a pair of black pants.

She sighed and went to him, not even interested in offering a token resistance to his obvious enticement. Jaina pried off her boots and stripped to her underclothes before joining him on the soft, makeshift bed. He gave her a half-smile and held out the glass.

She took a sip of the wine and reclined on the blankets. "Anakin says he got the sense I was in danger, and my mother gave him permission to come check on me."

"Mmm. Is he going to pound my face in for seducing you?"

Jaina snorted and handed him the glass back. Kyp shifted to set it aside, on a low tray nearby. "No," she said. "My brother's not pleased, but he's also not stupid."

"His timing could be better," her lover mused. "I just received a summons from the Empress. It seems that someone has been attacking the Empire's borders and she'd like me to do something about it."

They looked at each other for a long moment, then both burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh over something, and it occurred to Jaina that this was the first time she'd shared humour with him.

Apparently, the same thing crossed his mind, because the mirth fled from his features and his green eyes turned intent, boring into her brown ones.

"Jaina," he breathed, and leaned in to kiss her.

The lingering chuckle died in her throat. Conflicting emotions welled within her and she ruthlessly pushed them away. There would be time for galactic politics and war later. Right now, she wanted him, and only him, for as long as she could manage.  
  


\----------

She offered no resistance when he opened her shirt to free her breasts. His mouth found one tight pink nipple and she sighed, threading her fingers through his hair.

Kyp devoted several minutes to each breast in turn, before sliding his mouth down her flat, toned stomach. He yanked her leggings down her hips. She shivered as he ran his tongue over her abdomen.

Jaina leaned her weight on her elbows, arms bent and hands fisted in the blankets. Kyp settled on his stomach between her legs and pressed a hot kiss to the inside of her thigh. Then he parted her and swiped his tongue over her clitoris.

She let out a little moan and bit her lip. She hadn't come to him a virgin, but no one had ever done this to her. "Oh," she sighed. "More."

He grinned and buried his face against her vulva, his tongue working rapid-fire. It wasn't long before Jaina was rocking her hips in time to his mouth, gasping and panting for release.

Watching him use his mouth to bring her was incredible, but as her orgasm hit her, Jaina had to drop her head back and close her eyes. "Unnh. Oh, Kyp!"

His breathing was less than steady when he rose over her. Jaina rolled to her knees and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. It only aroused her more. He pulled her close, his erection a hard, throbbing weight between them.

"My turn," she said against his mouth. Her fingers found his length, straining against the confines of his pants, and rubbed him through the fabric.

He hissed out a breath and shifted to sit on the blankets. Jaina followed, straddling him to nip at his bottom lip. When he tried to close his arms around her, she slipped out of his grasp and pushed him flat on the floor.

Kyp huffed a laugh and decided to let her take charge, see where she was going with this. He had an idea, but discovering was better.

Jaina licked his chest, flicking her tongue over his flat nipples. She trailed kisses down his stomach, as he'd done to her. When she reached the waist of the pants, she made quick work of the fastenings, releasing his eager shaft. It sprang to attention and she offered him a small grin before she pressed her lips to the head.

He wrapped her long braid around his hand, holding it out of the way. His breathing was already ragged when she leaned down and ran her tongue the length of his erection, from base to tip.

"Yes," he hissed, when Jaina swirled her tongue around the head. "That's it."

Then she took him into her mouth. Her clever fingers stroked his sac while she sucked him. He'd had women do this for him before, but it had never felt the way it did with Jaina.

Truthfully, nothing had felt the way it did with Jaina. He didn't want to examine that too closely, and it was easy to shift his thoughts from that which disturbed him, to what the beautiful young woman was doing with her very talented mouth.

She seemed to know when he got close, and she eased off, giving him one last, slow lick the length of his erection. Then Jaina sat up and he had to let go of her braid, the glint in her eyes letting him know she was perfectly aware of what she did to him.

"I want you," she told him.

"Good. It's mutual."

She regarded him under lowered lashes, teeth worrying for a moment at kiss-swollen lips. Then she moved to kneel, facing away from him, and leaned forward on her hands.

Kyp kicked off his pants and moved to join her, letting his hands smooth over her buttocks. He dipped his fingers into the wet folds she'd exposed to his gaze. Jaina shuddered and pushed back against his hand.

"Your body weeps for me, little Jedi," he murmured, and she moaned in response.

He slid into her from behind, thrusting a few times with his hands on her hips. Then it became too tempting, to use his teeth and lightly nip at the nape of her neck. He leaned over her and did just that. She moaned and rocked her hips, urging him on.

"Harder," she growled. "Now."

It was fast and explosive. They reached climax almost simultaneously. Kyp spilled himself into her, then collapsed, shaking, on the blankets. Jaina stretched and rolled to her back, grateful to take the weight off her knees.

"That was fun," she said. "But I don't think the floor is ideal for that one next time."

That got a laugh. He hooked an arm around her waist and tugged her against him. "I'll keep that in mind."  
  


\----------

The last place any of them wanted to go was Coruscant. Anakin didn't argue against it, simply expressed his reluctance to go that deep into Imperial space. He wasn't entirely sure why he was even here, other than his mother had told him to find Jaina.

He found himself watching Jaina and the Sith Lord, observing their interactions with interest. Anakin wasn't sure if Jaina noticed, but Rache's attention was almost always on her, and in unguarded moments, the Sith seemed to regard her with fondness.

That didn't go for Reiniger, though. The man who had once been their brother obviously didn't like Jaina, or her place in his master's life. Then again, Reiniger didn't seem to like _anyone_ , as far as Anakin could see.

It was also clear to Anakin that Jaina was about as far gone on the Sith Lord as she could possibly be. He'd seen it starting before they'd parted ways on Yavin, and now it seemed obvious to her little brother that she was in love with Rache. He didn't even pretend to understand it; he just knew that somehow, this was where Jaina was supposed to be.

He just wasn't going to let her be alone in this pit of snakes.

"So what's our approach?" he asked, as they all gathered around one of Rache's holoboards, in the war room.

"Delay going to see Jade," Rache muttered. Slightly louder, he said, "We need to find out how close to operational the Empire's managed to get Centerpoint, see what their targets are. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Jedi will be among Jade's top targets, if not the first on the list."

"Not a difficult supposition," Reiniger put in. "Her disdain for the Jedi is well-known. Since they're the Republic's best fighters, taking them out would give Jade a large tactical advantage against the Republic."

"Not entirely," Jaina countered. She braced both hands on the silver rim of the holoboard. "The Republic's Starfighter Command has better pilots than the Empire, even if the Empire has them on sheer numbers. The ships the Empire has can't take the fleet the Republic commands, simply because they're better and newer."

Reiniger's yellow eyes narrowed. "They're toys compared to the fleet _we_ -"

Rache held up a hand. "Be that as it may, Jade doesn't have access to my fleet, and the Republic will, once we figure out our best plan of attack. Unfortunately, this going to take a two-pronged approach for the present. Reiniger, Anakin, I need you to take the _Shadow Chaser_ to Centerpoint Station and recon the situation. I'm needed on Coruscant, so that I can pick the Empress's brain. Jaina will, naturally, come with me."

The irritation poured off of Reiniger in waves; Anakin was no less pleased by this, but given what he'd seen of his sister's interactions with Rache, he was less worried about Jaina than he was about what Reiniger might do. And a pricking sensation along the nape of his neck told him he needed to go to Centerpoint.

He hadn't been there since he'd been a boy . . .

"Fine," he said. "Given that I've been there and your apprentice hasn't, I'm in charge of the mission."

Rache flicked dark green eyes to Anakin, and one corner of his mouth lifted. "Unless you run into trouble," he said smoothly. "Reiniger might have a trick or two up his sleeve that the Empire won't see coming."

Reiniger sneered at Anakin, and bowed his head to his master. "When should we leave, Master?"

"We'll give it another day or two here in the border, then we'll head to Coruscant. We can drop you off in the Corellian system as we pass. That will be soon enough."  
  


\----------

Anakin wasn't familiar with the _Shadow Chaser_. Jaina took him into the cockpit to show him around.

"This is amazing," her younger brother said. "Quantum, phase-shifted armour?"

"Yeah. This baby will take anything the Empire can throw at it. It's not hugely armed, built more for defense and speed than anything, but it's got superior cloaking, too. Kyp let me play with it on the way back from Coruscant a few weeks ago."

Anakin sat in one of the pilot chairs. "Kyp, huh?"

Jaina flushed, shrugged her shoulders. "It's . . . what I call him. He lets me."

"I noticed." Her brother leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. "Don't let him hurt you, Jay. I've got eyes, I can see you're crazy about him."

She sighed and sank into the other chair. "I can't help it. And I'm not sure what to do about it. I wanted to save Jacen, kill Rache, but . . . I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"You're doing what the Force wants you to be doing," he told her. "And I don't know what that is any more than you do, but if I didn't think you were okay with Rache right now--which, by the way, is one of the strangest things I've ever said in my life--I wouldn't have agreed to go with Reiniger."

"I really don't like Reiniger," Jaina whispered. "And it feels so wrong to say that. He was my twin brother. And now he's . . ."

"Evil," Anakin said. "I know. Part of why I'm going to Centerpoint. I have a bad feeling about him, and if anyone can handle him . . ."

Jaina smirked. "Don't get cocky."

They both knew he wasn't, though. Anakin was the most gifted of the Jedi, and if anyone could handle himself against a Sith apprentice, it was her little brother.

"You take the younger one," she said. "I'll deal with the older one."


	18. Chapter 18

**\--Chapter Eighteen--**  
  
Anakin gave his sister a hug before boarding the _Shadow Chaser_. He looked at Rache. "I'm only going to say this once, mostly because she'll hit me. But if you hurt Jaina, I'm going to beat you to death with a shovel."

Kyp snorted a laugh. He hadn't laughed as much in his existence as he had since these two had come into his life, not since . . . well, since they'd left it the first time.

"You have my word I'll protect her."

Jaina poked him in the side, then did the same to her brother. "I can take care of myself, thanks. Now get going, we're on a deadline."

"Yeah, yeah." Anakin gave them both a long look, then bounded up the boarding ramp.

As the ship left the hangar, Jaina sighed. "Sometimes, I still see him as a kid. But he's not."

Rache wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "My apprentice won't harm him, if that's what you're worried about."

Jaina looked up at him with amusement and disbelief. "Seriously? That's what you think I'm worried about? Anakin would kick Reiniger's butt from here to Tatooine."

"You think so? And what makes you so sure?"

"Well, we've both trained with the best Jedi swordsmen out there, and you'd have to be stupid to not see how powerful Anakin is."

He made a noncommittal noise and guided her back towards the main part of the ship. He was very aware of how powerful all of the Solos were. He was also aware that he'd planned to turn Jaina, make her his Sith queen, but somehow, he'd neglected to make any moves towards doing it.

He was slipping, obviously, distracted by everything else going on. He'd rectify that eventually. For now, it was enough that she was there.  
  


\----------

They arrived on Coruscant two days later. Admittedly, Rache had dawdled. He had no choice but to bring the _Eradicator_ into Imperial space, even to orbit around Coruscant, because they'd sent the _Shadow Chaser_ with Anakin and Reiniger. He'd considered coming in two of his stealth fighters, but had decided against it. If he was going to answer the Empress's summons, he was going to do it in a way that reminded her, and her cronies, exactly who she was messing with.

Back at the apartment in Imperial City, Jaina eyed the dress choices.

"Are you sure we have to go to this?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, very." He put his hands on her hips and leaned over her shoulder. "I prefer the red, obviously, but you wore that last time. Perhaps the blue velvet?"

She shivered at his breath on her ear. "I have no one to help me into that one."

He chuckled. "You have me, or did you forget?"

"There's no way in all nine Corellian hells that I could forget you've seen me naked." She turned in his arms, slid her hands up his chest. "I don't like the idea of you meeting her alone."

"I have little fondness for it, myself," he sighed. "In fact, my skin crawls at the thought. But I need to get what I can out of her, and I doubt she'll be very forthcoming with you around."

Jaina wrinkled her nose. "And I doubt we can tie her up and get her to talk."

"Hardly. Charming as the idea is."

He gave her a quick kiss, one that jolted Jaina clear to her toes, and stepped back. Picking up his leather gloves, he said, "Hurry and dress. We're going to be fashionably late as it is, but I don't want to miss a chance to speak with Pellaeon before I have to see Jade."

Jaina nodded. She eyed the dresses that she'd been considering, and decided Kyp was right. The blue was the best option. It was a deep, midnight blue, strapless, with a bodice that laced up in back. The skirt had a train covered with tiny silver stars of crystal and silver embroidery. A shooting star decorated the neckline in front. Jaina paired it with dangling starburst earrings of clear Corusca gems, and piled her hair up in an elaborate coif with more little stars. Just because she normally opted to wear plain Jedi robes didn't mean she wasn't her mother's daughter and didn't know how to dress up.

Kyp helped her lace up the dress. He took entirely too long doing it, pausing to press a kiss to her shoulderblade, or the nape of her neck, after each tug of the cords.

"Are you trying to make me jump you so you don't have to meet with the Empress?" she asked huskily.

He pulled her slim but curved body against his and gave a low laugh. "Busted."

"Just remember, the only person you're dancing with tonight is me."

"As long as the same goes for you."  
  


\----------

The ballroom was just the same as last time, save for the attire of the attendees. Jaina snatched a glass off the tray of a passing server droid and sipped at the pale blue champagne.

"Nervous?"

"No, I just hate balls. I'm really dreading when my best friend gets married in a few months. She's Queen Mother of Hapes and it's going to go on for four kriffing days."

He smirked. "Intending to take me as your plus-one?"

Jaina inhaled a mouthful of champagne. As she choked and spluttered, he patted her on the back and laughed.

They wandered over to the buffet. Jaina couldn't identify most of what was on display, and stuck with those things that she could name. It wasn't much, and that left her a little grumpy.

More irritating was when her companion leaned over and said, "Stay here for a bit. I see Pellaeon and want to corner him."

"Sure, I'll just be decorative by the buffet," she snarled.

Kyp snickered and slid his gloved fingers down her bare arm before moving off.

She finished her champagne, traded it for a new glass, and scowled into the bubbly liquid. She hated these things, and she especially hated being alone at them. It would have been fun to have Anakin here, he'd have plenty of snarky comments to make about it.

Then again, she didn't want to have to shoo Anakin away when she got Kyp alone later.

"General Solo."

She jumped, nearly spilling her champagne, and turned to the black-uniformed man who'd managed to sneak up on her. He was tall, dignified, and completely stiff from his white-streaked black hair to his extra-shiny boots.

"Colonel Fel," she replied with dismay. "How . . . nice to see you."

"You're even worse at lying than the last time I had occasion to speak with you," he said. His icy green eyes--why did everyone have green eyes around here?--swept over her. "You look lovely. I trust Lord Rache is treating you well."

Appetite suddenly gone, she put both drink and plate on a nearby table and folded her arms under her breasts. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes."

"When we first met, I didn't think you the type for this," he said quietly.

"Define 'this'."

"The mistress of a Sith Lord."

Jaina barely managed not to glare at him. "What I am to Rache, or he to me, is none of your concern. And if you're harassing me because you're still upset over your . . . shock . . . I would really suggest you take your misplaced anger elsewhere. I wasn't responsible for that, and you don't want to be here when the guy who was comes back."

The narrow face, with the scar through his eyebrow, twisted in an expression of contempt. "And to think I was once interested in you. I thought you were a woman of honour, but you're nothing but a kept wh-"

"Go away," Jaina bit out, cutting him off.

A gloved hand came down on Fel's shoulder. Even though Rache was a few centimetres shorter than the Imperial pilot, Fel still froze when he realised who was standing behind him.

"Take the lady's suggestion," Rache purred, "before you find yourself in deeper than you can safely swim, boy."

Fel was good at hiding emotion, but nothing could disguise the raw fear he felt in Rache's presence. He turned on one sharply-dressed heel and stalked off through the crowd.

"Are you alright?" Kyp asked.

"Fine," Jaina snapped, then sighed. "Sorry. Something about him makes me want to Force-shove him into a wall. Or maybe a tree. I think I'm too worked up to stay."

"Dance with me once, then you can go back to the apartment." He held out his hand.

Knowing there was no point in resisting, she placed her hand in his and let him lead her out to the dance floor. The music playing didn't require her to pick up her train in order to dance. Jaina wasn't in the mood to deal with her dress on top of everything else.

Kyp drew her into his arms. She forced him to maintain a little distance, with a hand on his chest.

"Not too close," she warned in a low voice. "Jade has eyes everywhere."

"Thank you for reminding me," he replied in kind. "We wouldn't want her to see too much into this, after all."

She hated that simple truth, because all she wanted to do was melt into him and pretend no one else existed.

Maybe Fel was right, after all. She didn't know anymore.  
  


\----------

Rache saw Jaina off in a taxi speeder, with his cape around her shoulders. He'd nearly killed that Imperial whelp tonight; the only thing that had kept him from doing it was learning from Pellaeon that the Fels had Jade's ear. He didn't want to tip his hand too soon and do something petty just to assuage his own pride. He hadn't lasted this long by being stupid.

Except when it came to Jaina, he was more and more often finding himself the fool.

Guards dressed in Imperial red ushered Rache into Empress Jade's private quarters at the palace. She'd done little to redecorate since his last visit. It was still surprisingly bare and bleak, with grey walls, floors, and furnishings.

Empress Mara Jade had once been the Emperor's Hand. She'd essentially been raised with one mission in life: to be the Emperor's personal assassin. Shortly before his death, he'd ordered her to kill Luke Skywalker. Rache wasn't entirely certain what had happened; all he knew was that she'd failed, and for a time she'd been a smuggler with Talon Karrde. She'd also briefly studied to be a Jedi. He remembered that much, since the two of them had had a nasty encounter on Yavin IV when he'd left the Jedi Academy and turned himself over to Exar Kun.

At some point, in the years since Luke Skywalker's death, Jade had rejoined the Empire she'd temporarily abandoned, and had risen quickly and ruthlessly through its ranks. She'd been Empress for close to twenty years, and ruled with a sly and vicious temper.

The woman who lounged at a table in her private quarters wasn't the public image she put forth. Dressed simply in a sleeveless shirt and leggings, with a blaster on her hip, Mara Jade had her booted feet up on the table, a datapad balanced against her knees. Her red hair, sprinkled with white-blonde strands, was tailed rather loosely behind her shoulders.

"You're late," she said, without looking up. "I expected you two days ago."

He tamped down his irritation. It took effort to modulate his voice into a lazy, somewhat sardonic drawl. "Ran into some pirates. Since you asked me to look into it, and all, I took care of the problem."

Eyes a lighter green than his finally flicked his way, for just a moment, before she went back to her report. "And will there be any more attacks on my outposts?"

"There shouldn't be."

She tossed the datapad on the table and swung her legs down, standing in one smooth motion. "And how do things stand with the Jedi?"

He let one corner of his mouth curl up. "As they always do. Why do you ask?"

"You're bedding one of them. I'm naturally going to be curious."

A raven brow lifted. "The Solo girl? If she's the best they have, they're doomed. She's a better plaything than a fighter."

Jade's fingers danced down the front of his shirt. "Probably best that you're keeping her distracted, though I'll admit I'm a bit jealous. I don't like other women touching my things."

He caught her hand, grip firm but not bruising. "I'm not yours, Jade. I'm toying with the Jedi because it amuses me and keeps them out of your hair. But I'm not your tool."

Jade tugged on her arm, but his grasp was unrelenting. She pouted for a moment, then grinned. "You had me worried, with that silence for so long. You've been busy, though, haven't you? She certainly is pretty."

"Pretty, and diverting, but little else." Rache let go of Jade's wrist and turned to the food and drink on the table. Pouring a little dark red wine into a goblet, he took a sip.

Jade propped a hip against the table's edge and eyed him. "My informant says that the scientists might be close to getting Centerpoint up and running. Which is fortunate. I'm getting impatient, and since you won't give me the _Suncrusher_ . . ."

He laughed, genuinely amused. "Give you my greatest weapon? Hardly. I'm not a stupid man, Jade."

"No," she agreed. "That you're not. Still, your reluctance makes things difficult for me. I want the Jedi dealt with."

"What's the hurry?"

He sank into one of the chairs and took another sip of the wine. He didn't want to consume too much, and cloud his judgement. Even before Jaina, dealing with Jade had been precarious at the best of times.

The Empress narrowed green eyes at him, staring in silence for a stretch long enough that he began to wonder if she knew of his deal with Jaina. Then she smiled, shook her head, and plucked the goblet from his hands.

"I've missed you, perverse as that is," she said. "No one is quite as . . . entertaining."

Jade drained the rest of the wine, set the goblet on the table, and slid into his lap. "Entertain me, Lord Rache."

A shudder of revulsion crawled up his spine, but he masked it well. After all, he'd had years of practise.

"Certainly, Your Imperial Majesty."

She ran a fingernail down the side of his neck, drawing blood. "I told you to call me Mara."

Force help him. It was going to be a long night.


	19. Chapter 19

**\--Chapter Nineteen--**  
  
 _The Corellian System_  
  
The _Shadow Chaser_ dropped out of hyperspace just outside the gravitational pull of the twin planets Talus and Tralus. Anakin piloted the small, sleek ship with ease, nearly as taken with it as his sister.

"There," Reiniger said, pointing unnecessarily to the space station that floated in the space between the two planets.

"I see it," Anakin said calmly. "Better strap in. If I remember right, the gravitational pull as we go in is a bit much."

Reiniger's yellow eyes regarded the younger man for several moments. Without a word, the Sith sank into the co-pilot seat and strapped the crash webbing around himself.

Anakin ignored the Sith and concentrated on a smooth and discreet approach to the station. He wasn't entirely sure what they were going to do when they got there, especially if the Empire was already there. Technically speaking, all they were supposed to be doing was reconnaissance. He expected trouble. Wasn't there always trouble?

He didn't want to be here, didn't want to be allies, even temporarily, with a Sith. And knowing that said Sith was his _brother_? Anakin was distinctly uncomfortable.

The _Shadow Chaser_ arrived unnoticed, thanks to its special equipment, and Anakin docked it.

"We're here for recon," he reminded Reiniger as he stood. "No killing anyone."

"And if they try to kill us?" the Sith inquired.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Stun them. Mind wipe them. But no killing!"

"You Jedi are so picky about violence."

Narrowing his blue eyes, Anakin said, "Shut up and get moving."  
  


\----------

  
 _Coruscant_  
  
Jaina had nearly worn a path in the expensive carpet when the front door finally opened and Kyp came in. He looked dishevelled, tired, and most of all, disgusted. Jaina wasn't sure she'd ever seen him with so much visible on his face.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Jade was . . . demanding." He tossed his cape on the nearest chair and yanked at the collar of his shirt. "I believe I'm going to take a shower. I feel dirty."

Jaina's brown eyes narrowed. His shirt was askew and- Realisation was a hard, cold punch to the gut, and her hands trembled, palms turning sweaty. She studied his face, taking in everything she was now so familiar with. "Did you- Did you _sleep_ with her?"

That green gaze wouldn't meet hers, the first time he'd ever avoided eye contact. That itself was an admission of guilt, and before she realised what she was doing, she'd crossed the space between them and slapped him hard across the face.

In an instant, Rache was back, propelling her with his body into the nearest wall. Jaina gasped as he slammed her against the hard surface.

"I've done what I had to," he growled. The Sithly yellow was only a brief flicker in his green eyes. "No less than you. I don't delude myself that you're here for anything other than to use me, so don't get righteous, little Jedi."

"You promised you wouldn't," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She hated that her reaction was to cry. She was a Jedi Knight, kriff it! "You said you wouldn't sleep with her, and I believed you."

His anger faltered for an instant. "Are you genuinely hurt that I did?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity.

Jaina yanked her hands out of his and used the back of one to dash away the betraying tears. She couldn't hold in a shuddering breath, and found herself saying, "You're _mine_."

For a long moment, he just stared at her. "What?"

She took a deep breath, figuring that she might as well keep going, since she was vaped anyway. "You're _mine_ , stang it. You promised you wouldn't-"

He couldn't deal with this at the moment, and he stepped back, letting her go. "I need a shower. And a full decontamination. Wait here."

She watched him stalk off into the 'fresher, hating herself for admitting weakness. Funny, he hadn't seemed triumphant in learning it . . .

When he emerged from the 'fresher, he'd dried off and dressed in dark green shimmersilk pajamas, his long, dark curls tailed at the nape of his neck. He found Jaina sitting on the bed, knees drawn up, her forehead against the arm braced across them. She'd stripped off the fancy gown, braided her hair in its usual plait, and wore leggings and a thin, sleeveless top, her feet bare.

"Jaina," he said.

She looked up, and he saw she'd been crying. He swallowed hard, the urge to apologise to her on the tip of his tongue. It was confusing and irritating that he felt guilty for hurting her. Because he _had_ hurt her. He'd promised he wouldn't go to Jade's bed while Jaina was in his, and he'd broken that promise.

But Jaina didn't want him, not really. She enjoyed sharing his bed, but she didn't want _him_. He was a tool for the New Republic, that was all.

Wasn't it?

He sat beside her on the bed, cross-legged, and wasn't sure what to say. "I didn't want to. You know I didn't."

She sniffled and looked away. "You still did it."

Kyp rolled a shoulder. "You gave yourself to me even though you didn't want to."

Jaina snorted. "You're an idiot."

Dark green eyes narrowed. "Perhaps. What for?"

She shook her head, yanked the tie out of her long braid, and began running her fingers through the dark strands. He recognised the nervous habit and waited for her to speak.

"Do you really think that I'd be here if I didn't want to be?" she asked, after a minute or two. "If this were just business . . ."

He caught her hand, threaded his fingers through the silky locks of her hair. "Is it not?"

"No," she whispered. "And it never has been."

"You hate me," he said.

She laughed bitterly, even as she leaned into his touch. "I thought I did. I wish I did."

Kyp found himself speaking, voicing the thoughts that had filled his mind lately, and didn't even stop to wonder why he was confessing all to her. "I'm not completely evil, Jaina. I know what I've done and who I've become. And I know I can't go back, not after this long. I've been Darth Rache for longer than your grandfather was Darth Vader. Do you think that there is any hope of salvation for me now?"

Jaina looked into his pained eyes and her heart broke. "Force help me, Kyp, I do. There is good in you. If there wasn't . . . I couldn't love you."

He gave a hard shudder at her words. No one had loved him since his parents had died. No one had cared, until Jaina. And he'd done nothing to deserve it. The thought that he'd betrayed her made him sick to his stomach, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Jaina-"

"Shut up," she whispered, and rose on her knees. "For once, just shut up."

He snapped his mouth closed, but a moment later, she'd slid into his lap and pressed her lips to his. He automatically wrapped his arms around her and she sighed into his mouth.

Her fingers found the fastening of his shirt and undid it, opening the garment to expose his chest. There was a long scratch on the side of his neck and she had to take a steadying breath and fight the urge to go pound Jade's face in for touching and for hurting Jaina's things. She had no way of knowing that the Empress had expressed a similar sentiment about _her_.

She dropped her shields to him, reached out through the Force for him. He resisted for a moment, then cautiously let her in. He tried to hide it, but he felt oily for giving in to the Empress.

Jaina wanted to erase that.

"Mine," she said again.

"Yours," he agreed, after a long moment, and kissed her.  
  


\----------

The only way Jaina knew to obliterate what Jade had done to him was to replace it with herself. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck that the Empress hadn't scratched.

Through the Force, she felt Kyp's confusion that she could ever love him, and she drew back to place both hands on the side of his face.

"I just do, okay?" she whispered, looking him in the eye. "Let me."

He gave her an uncertain, lopsided smile, wondering when the dynamic between them had changed, and why it didn't rankle the way it once would have. Kyp skimmed his hands over her torso and helped her out of her own shirt, exposing the pert breasts he loved so much. Loved? Appreciated. That was it.

Jaina dug her fingers into his hair as he took one nipple into his mouth. She sighed, shifting restlessly in his lap. "Kyp."

He caught his hands under her backside and moved to place her back on the bed, settling his weight between her legs. Feeling how she delighted in it through the Force made him grin. How had he not let her in before? How could he have missed out on this?

He lavished attention on her breasts, his dark hair sliding across and tickling her skin. She shivered and tangled her fingers in the curls. Warmth and desire flowed through her at the slow pull of his mouth on her nipple.

Before, everything between them had been sex, sometimes mindless rutting. This time felt different, for both of them. He kissed his way down her body, removing her clothes as he went. When she was naked beneath him, he moved from the bed to shed the rest of his.

Jaina scooted to the edge of the bed and caught his hand, pulling him to her. He went willingly, letting her guide him to lay back on the expensive covers. Her hair, wavy from her braid, was a curtain around them as Jaina leaned over to kiss him. She trailed her mouth over his skin, anywhere she thought--or knew--the Empress might have touched him. When she reached his half-hard manhood, Jaina cupped him in her fingers and stroked him in reverential silence, needing to give him pleasure as much as she needed to place her own mark on him.

When she licked him, he sighed her name. Her mouth on him wasn't about making him hard--which it did, undoubtedly--or about foreplay. He knew through their new bond that she was claiming him. And he didn't mind in the slightest. After all, she'd long ago become his.

She rose and stretched beside him. Kyp wrapped his fingers in her hair and kissed her slowly, hungrily. Jaina threw a leg over his hips and rocked against him, making a sound of pure need and want that nearly sent him over the edge. He reached between them and touched her, rubbing his fingers over her clit until she was dripping wet and panting.

Jaina moaned, murmured, "Please, Kyp."

He rolled her beneath him and without a word, surged into her. Jaina let out a wordless cry and her hands gripped his back, her body rising to meet him.

"I love you," she breathed, lifting a hand to press to his cheek. She projected the same sentiment through their bond.

Kyp turned his head and kissed her palm, an unidentifiable bubble of emotion filling his chest. His thrusts were slow and measured, as he watched her emotions play across her face and through the Force. He ducked his head and kissed her, overwhelmed by the power of her feelings for him.

"I don't deserve you," he told her.

"Shh." She nipped at his bottom lip. "Just make love to me."

He did as instructed, his mouth finding the spot below her jaw that he loved to suck. She arched beneath him, legs tight around his hips.

"Harder," she murmured in his ear.

Somehow, she made it easy to push the degradation of bedding Jade out of his mind, filling it only with need for her. He moved with intent now, harder but still steady in his rhythm, and all at once, Jaina climaxed in his arms, calling his name with a breathy cry.

He brought her twice more before he let himself go, and they lay together in a sweaty, happy tangle of limbs. He felt nothing but contentment from her through the Force, and it went lightyears towards assuaging the disgust he felt for himself.

"Love you," she murmured. She closed her eyes and yawned.

Kyp chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Sleep, Goddess."  
  


\----------

Lying beside her as she slept, Kyp stroked Jaina's cheek with a knuckle. He'd never heard before the words she'd spoken to him, declaring her love as he, for the first time, selflessly gave her whatever he could. Now, she curled into him, one small hand flat on his chest.

That declaration of devotion had undone him, utterly and completely. He hadn't known until she'd said it that he needed her, just as surely as she needed him. He wanted to do everything he could to make it up to her, wanted to make her smile, and if that was love . . .

"Shavit," he muttered, and hauled her close.

He fell into a restless sleep, found himself at the controls of a small ship, and so very angry, filled with grief.

They said his brother was dead. The Empire had killed him.So he fired.

But Zeth wasn't dead. Kyp saw his face on the monitor, an older version of his own. But the fire was coming. It was too late.

"Zeth!"

He woke sitting upright, hands fisted in the sheets, covered with sweat and shaky. Beside him, Jaina sat up, touched his arm.

The last time he'd dreamed of his brother, of what he'd done with the _Suncrusher_ , he had pushed Jaina away, retreated into Darth Rache. This time, he turned and gathered her into his arms, fighting a renewed grief over the long-ago death of his only family.

"I killed him," he rasped. "My brother. He's dead because of me."

"Shh." She couldn't say it was okay, because it really wasn't. She couldn't imagine killing Anakin, didn't want to contemplate having to deal with Reiniger. One day, she'd have to, but she couldn't think about it tonight.

Jaina kissed his shoulder, pressed her nose to the pulse point in his throat, and let him silently cry.  
  


\----------

Kyp pretended valiantly that she hadn't witnessed him crying. Admitting weakness was not one of his strong points, and that failing had, in fact, led to him becoming a Sith.

Still, he secretly appreciated that Jaina had been there for him. He hadn't known that he needed that.

The fight they'd had the night before, and the subsequent making up, had made him forget what he'd learned from speaking with the Empress. As he and Jaina dressed the next morning, he told her of the Empress's plans for Centerpoint, that she intended with certainty to point the weapon at Yavin IV and take out her most dangerous enemies . . . all without knowing that the most deadly ones of all were on Coruscant itself.

"We can't let her get it," Jaina said, as she tugged on her boots. "But how do we stop her?"

He shrugged. "Kill her?"

She paused and stared at him. It made him uncomfortable and he looked away as he said, "You know as well as I do that she won't stop until she's dead."

"I know," she replied. "Would you really find it that easy to kill a woman you've slept with?"

Kyp grimaced. "Not _you_ ," he told her. "But Jade? In an instant."

She knew he was a Sith, had seen him kill people, but she still wasn't sure if that was reassuring or disturbing. What had passed between them in the night didn't change his basic nature, or the fact that he was the Dark Lord of the Sith. Somewhere along the way, he'd just become Kyp to her.

"Hey." He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her to him. "I would _never_ hurt you. Never again. I know you don't like that I have an easy time killing. You've made that clear often enough. But sometimes it's necessary, Jaina."

She nodded. "I've done my share. Force . . . I was planning to kill _you_."

He ran a hand over her cheek. "I know. And I wouldn't blame you in the slightest."

"I can't now," she whispered. "Even if you're still the enemy."

"Not _your_ enemy," he assured her.

Her hand went to the lovebite on her neck, the one that mirrored the scratch Jade had given him. "I'm aware of that."

He grinned for a moment, then sobered. "If we take her out, there will be a power vacuum. My credits are on Pellaeon. I'm not sure what our approach should be, but it needs to be fast."

"If we leave now, she's going to know you've cast your lot in with the Jedi," Jaina said.

"I know. I think she already suspects. She asked me last night what you are to me." He cupped her face in his hands. "I lied and told her you were just a toy. But you've always been more than that, Jaina Solo."

She leaned in and kissed him, hard. "I know. Somehow, I've always known."

Then she sat back and looked around the apartment. "Nice digs. Too bad she's going to completely destroy them when she comes after you."

He sighed. "Ah, well, sacrifices need to be made sometimes. I have enough credits to get another, even nicer place. Pack your things, let's blow this cantina."  
  


\----------

The Eradicator dropped out of hyperspace near Talus and Tralus, the cloaking system activated. The Corellians and other peoples of the system had no idea the ship was there, which was precisely how Kyp wanted it.

"They should be finishing soon and we'll rendezvous here, as planned," he told Jaina, as they stood on the bridge of the ship, looking out at the twin planets and the superweapon suspended between them.

"Why don't we just blow it up?" she asked.

He arched a dark brow at her. "With what?"

"Um. We're on a Super Star Destroyer, Rache."

"We may end up doing that, if our reconnaissance finds a weakness we can exploit. I'm not sure how much firepower it will take."

Jaina shifted her weight from foot to foot. It made her uncomfortable to be standing here. She eyed him sideways, lost in thought. She'd wanted to kill him, but then she'd fallen in love. And he knew how she felt now.

Was he redeemable? she wondered. Luke had turned to the Dark Side, before Anakin was born, and he'd come back. Could Kyp? Anakin had suggested it, but she'd never really thought it possible before last night.

"Something is bothering you," he said in a low voice. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Just thinking." Jaina hugged herself, unable to quell an anxious feeling gnawing at her gut. She'd had it since Ailana's death, and it increased day by day.

One of the officers called out, "We've been contacted by the Shadow Chaser. They're now docking in Bay 28."

Kyp turned on one heel, cape swirling around him, and left the bridge. Jaina followed in silence, deep in thought. She _had_ to bring him back to the Light, somehow. In her heart, she knew she'd never really wanted to kill him. Rache she wanted destroyed, but _Kyp_ . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted when they reached Bay 28 and met Reiniger and Anakin. She was very happy to see her brother, and surprised him by hugging him tightly.

"It's been three days," Anakin said. "Why are you acting like it's been a month since I've seen you?"

"It's been a long three days, let's put it that way."

"Report?" Kyp asked mildly, with an underlying thread to his voice that made his apprentice stand a little straighter.

"The station is not operational right now," Reiniger said. "It requires someone with the Force to operate in the first place, which might be an issue for the Empire if they want to use it, since they keep killing every Force-sensitive they encounter."

Kyp snorted. "That figures. How are its defenses?"

Anakin spoke up. "It's got really good plating, and its shield generator, when they bother to turn it on higher than enough to keep space debris out, is strong. But I'm not sure the Eradicator alone has enough firepower to destroy it. The generator is pretty deep inside the core of the station, and unlike the Death Star, it doesn't have any convenient exhaust ports."

"Hmm. I'll need to think about this. We'll sit here and watch for a bit, see if any of Jade's people show up." Kyp nodded to his apprentice. "Get me the schematics and I'll study them. Once they're in the computer, you can take some personal time."

"Yes, Master."

Reiniger left the docking bay. Kyp looked to the Solo siblings. His gaze rested for a long moment on Jaina.

"I'll see you in our quarters once I've looked over the schematics. I may want your opinion, but I'd like to study them myself first."

Jaina raised a brow as he turned and left.

"What was that?" Anakin asked.

She shrugged. "He's been acting strangely the last two days. I don't know."

She didn't know, and it worried her.


End file.
